Gang brats and Cucumbers
by Tosa
Summary: No one cares for the deprived kid who struggles just to pretend not to care... especially when that kid is Kakashi Hatake, the biggest delinquent this side of the country. Can the young, green beast himself set him straight? AU GaiKaka
1. Access Denied

There was smoke everywhere. It lay heavy in their lungs, making them drowsy, stupid. They laughed, talked loudly. Life, to them, was always good.  
Their blood splattered pipes were at their feet and, the fight now eradicated from their memories, they simply hung together and got high; their way of celebrating. They'd gotten out with but a few cuts and bruises.  
He leaned over her cigarette, trying to keep himself from giggling too hard as he inhaled the bitter, musty smell. _Pleasure_; the one thing he never had at home.  
But Asuma stopped, pointing.  
There was someone at the edge of the alleyway. If they'd been sober, they'd realize this wasn't at all abnormal. They were quite near a high school, after all. _Their_ high school.  
The boy stood before them, strong stance, neat-and-tidy school uniform looking strange and out of place in contrast to their gang emblems. He narrowed his bushy eyebrows and hissed,  
"Scum."  
---------------  
It was another one of those days where, had he _not_ been in danger of being kicked out of the house, Kakashi would have skipped school.  
Keyword here being 'not'.  
Amazingly enough, the legendary 'White Fang', the city of Konoha's number one ex-delinquent, didn't want his son following in his infamous footsteps. Go to school, he said. Get educated, he demanded. Kakashi missed the days when all he had to do was trash-talk him about mom, and he'd fall silent. But lately, good 'ol Whitey felt the obligation to force Kakashi to school anyway, grimacing at his acid remarks as he pushed him out the front door.  
"At _least_ show up for homeroom."  
And he would. But as soon as the bell rung, outside he went again to join Anko, Asuma, and the others whose names had long escaped him, though not that he cared. They were just another set of replaceables to him, anyway.  
However, despite how he'd been doing this the past week or so, Anko and Asuma still looked at him with utter astonishment whenever he said he'd meet them after homeroom.  
"Whaaaaaat?!" Anko whined, hunching over her knees. Asuma just looked confused, and stroked his three chin-hairs.  
"What's with the noble-ness all 'a sudden?"  
Kakashi rolled his eyes, not bothering to answer the question. Hell, they'd forget by tomorrow anyway. Maybe even forget he'd been talking to them in three minutes or so. He simply turned his back on them and, with a shrug, waved at them over his shoulder. "See ya later. I'll tell Orochi-sensei 'hi' for you, kay, Anko?"  
She replied with an un-lady like grunt before taking a deep breathe of tobacco... or whatever mind-numbing, doubtedly legal drug she had in there today.  
He entered the classroom fifteen minutes late and, when questioned for his actions, Kakashi simply saluted his teacher with a smile and stated he wanted to make an entrance. Most of the other students sighed, not really caring what happened with the disgraceful excuse for a human being one way or another. As long as he wasn't making trouble for them or the school. Many parents had threatened to pull their kids out over him.  
"By the way, Orochi-sensei, Anko says you're still her favorite teacher."  
The tall, attractive man standing at the front of the classroom sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his lithe, pale fingers. "Yes, but could you tell Anko I actually need to see her once in a while for me to keep that particular position?"  
Large vocabulary, handsome face, and the youngest teacher by far at the school. There was no doubt this man was classy. Most of the female students (and teachers, speaking of which) desperately pursued him, though Kakashi couldn't quite see why. He was ghostly; rather scary, too, what with the piercingly bright, snakelike eyes and long, black hair that fell well past his shoulders.  
Kakashi narrowed his discolored eyes at him. What a jackass. Why exactly did Anko like him, anyway? He was such a fruit, and besides. There was an air about him that gave even him the shivers.  
Suddenly, those scary eyes met his – one brown, one blue – causing him to snap back to reality.  
"Hatake-san, would you mind sitting down?"  
"Huh? Oh, right." _Fuck, did I just zone out?_  
A teeny, hushed group of brave giggles sounded near the back of the class.  
--------------  
Kakashi let out a wild _whoop!_ as the bell rung, signaling that the end of homeroom had finally come... and he could go smoke behind the school with Anko and Asuma.  
Feeling happier than usual, he rounded the hallways, making his way for the door--  
To find his sweet escape blocked.  
A boy about an entire head-and-a-half taller than him stood in his way, angry scowl plastered on his round, friendly face. Well, of course it wasn't friendly now, but Kakashi imagined it might, when smiling, actually become...  
He sighed, tapping his foot. "Move, will ya?"  
The boy faced him completely, and it took him a moment to register that the too enormous caterpillars crawling on his forehead were his eyebrows. He blinked. _This guy has the whole Bruce Lee-thing going on, bowl cut, muscles an' all..._ To top it all off, he had bad taste, too, or at least in Kakashi's eyes. He wore a green T-shirt beneath his unbuttoned black school uniform.  
"Fine, whatever," he grumbled in a deep, smooth voice. Despite himself, Kakashi found it pleasant to listen to.  
The mondo-freak stepped out of the way, allowing Kakashi passage. But when the poofy, gray-headed boy didn't move, he raised a giant, furry eyebrow.  
"Uh. _Hello_...?"  
"Hatake. Kakashi Hatake."  
The boy rolled his eyes. "I was pausing for the sake of pausing, I didn't ask your name."  
"Oh." Freak.  
"Besides, I know you. You're that gang-banger who's always giving everyone shit."  
"Yup!" he brightened; so he _was_ famous.  
"That wasn't a compliment, you know."  
Silence; awkward, to be exact. Just the kind Kakashi was used to... and just the kind he hated.  
"Well, if we're done here..." the boy turned and began to walk away from Kakashi into the empty hallways. "I'm going to be la-"  
"Wait!"  
He turned. "What now?"  
Kakashi fumbled for the right words. _Yeah, what?_  
"Uh... what's your name?"  
At this, the other boy's face softened considerably and he straightened up. Kakashi had been right. When he wasn't looking at you as if you were the scum of the earth, he did have a gentle face. Probably a pansy-type, he thought to himself.  
"Well. Assuming you don't recognize your own student-body president... which I didn't suspect you of doing so anyway..." he paused, again. _Dramatic effect,_ Kakashi thought.  
"I'm Maito Gai."

* * *

Rated for future chapters. I've always loved this little piece, and I'm just now deciding to continue it. Who knows? This may turn out to be interesting… 

PLEASE, I BEG you! Do NOT complain about the format! I tried to fix it, transferring it to multiple medias but STILL the stupid site wouldn't fix it correctly. -.-


	2. Those Damn Dogs

He arched his toe, gently kneading it into the animal's back in an absent matter. The little pug let out an exaggerated moan before cuddling closer to him. Kakashi sighed.  
"Really. It's not that big of a deal," he mumbled. He paused a moment and, after deciding that it was so _not_ the cocaine talking and he was simply confiding in his little dog, he continued. "But he seemed kind of _mad_. I've never even met that bastard before in my life."  
Actually, of this Kakashi wasn't so sure. He'd mentioned something about being a class president or some sort, but there was something about that _voice_... Deep, resentful... and loathing. He sighed. "Jesus, Pakkun, you sure have it easy."  
The little dog grunted, as if in agreement.  
The boy was just reaching down to give the dog an affectionate pat when the door to his room creaked open slightly.  
"Can I come in?"  
"Fuck off," Kakashi snapped, gripping Pakkun a tad harder than he'd meant to. The pug remained indifferent to the hostile touch and instead sniffed his other hand. It was almost as if he was sensing the growing tension between father and son, and was showing his concern.  
"Kakashi, _please..._"  
"Sakumo, _please!_" he snapped back, gaudily. Pakkun rumbled a deep, throaty growl.  
"Can we talk?"  
"_Hell no!_"  
There was a deep, melancholy sigh on the other side of the crack.  
"Right. Sorry. I guess I'm just invading your privacy here. Not that I'm asking for much, except to talk to my own son..."  
Kakashi shifted uncomfortably from his place on his bed, hesitating a moment before hoisting Pakkun onto his lap. He contemplated apologizing for a moment, only to shy away from the idea. After all, he had a reputation to live up. And every action, whether seen by an audience or not, counted.  
"Stop trying to guilt me," he hissed instead, sounding much less hostile than he had planned. He actually sounded very... hurt.  
He buried his face in the animal's neck as faint footsteps lead away from the battlefield.

Kakashi absolutely hated the weekends.  
True, it was one of the few times he had an excuse to run off, and it was the time of week he could spend as much time as he pleased with his dog. But on the weekends, Anko went to terrorize her mother at her home far up in Kiri, and Asuma tended to be kind of boring when it was just him alone.  
And besides. Weekends meant most jobs were closed. Like his father's. And with nowhere for either to go, that meant awkward time. Awkward silences.  
But this particular weekend Kakashi must have been lucky, because his father had slept in late due to a hell of a lot of drinking the night before (brought on by stress courtesy of the 'Little Fang' of Konoha himself), and therefore had a few hours to spend alone. Around noon, his father arose, and Kakashi was up and out of the house before recieving the general, "G'Morning."  
Kakashi rounded Central Avenue, sighing in contempt as Pakkun trailed loyally behind, snorting and snuffling in his wake.  
"Yo. Let's go eat somewhere," he stated nonchalantly, as if Pakkun really had any preference of restaraunt. The little dog snorted a seemingly happy reply.  
"Fine," Kakashi smirked. "The Ichiraku Ramen place, it is."  
It felt good to be outside, and Kakashi took the opportunity to look around and survey the 'scenery'... if a trashy city really counted as scenery.  
True, Konoha was one of the biggest cities across the island nation of Japan, but that wasn't to say it didn't have its slums. Even the nicest cities have shit areas, Konoha certainly not excluded.  
The buildings were abnormal gray-green, teal and black hues, all worn and some greatly demolished, or at least in this particular district. Kakashi crinkled his nose with a grimace. True, he wasn't the richest of people, but he felt sorry for any poor SOB who was forced to live in _this_ place. He hoped to god he wouldn't run into anyone he knew here. Wouldn't that just be the peaches on top of a sundae...

"PAKKUN, YOU DAMN DOG! _YOU GET BACK HERE!!_"  
Kakashi scowled in disgust, rushing after the little dog as he sped down the sidewalk. Jesus Christ - he turns his back for literally _one frickin' second_ and the stupid animal just runs off!  
"HEY, YOU GONNA' PAY FOR THIS 'ER WHAT?!"  
The old man at the ramen stand sighed, lowering the bowl in his hand.  
"Ah, well," he decided. "I'll just give it to another, _paying_ customer..."  
He promptly plucked a hair off the top.

"PAKKUN!! STOP!!"  
Kakashi got his wish as the pug came to an abrupt stop at the end of the corner, sniffing a pair of shiny, black shoes.  
Unfortunately, Kakashi _didn't_ stop, instead smacking straight into the chest of the man to whom the shoes belonged... and successfully knocking him on his ass, landing on his lap. First impressions were always crucial.  
The man raised a particularly large eyebrow at Kakashi.  
"Say... Don't I know you?"  
Er... make that High school student. Really, really _big_ high school student.  
His face paled so much it almost blended with his silvery hair.  
"Uh..." He grinned. "Hey! Thanks for the gentle landing. I'm sure I would've bruised my balls had it not been for you, uh...?"  
The student rolled his eyes, an expression Kakashi was all too familiar with.  
"Didn't we just go over this a little while ago? _Gai_. My name is _Maito Gai_."  
Kakashi knew his name, all right. But something in the back of his mind told him that even if he had remembered it right away, Gai would've said something incredibly biting anyway. So he settled for rolling his eyes back.  
Gai shoved him off and stood, without even offering a hand to help his classmate up. He then dusted himself off. Both actions were relatively small, but they certainly didn't go unnoticed. Kakashi winced. _So. He _does_ hate me._  
"Don't you have something better to do then follow me?" Gai grunted angrily over his shoulder as Kakashi trailed reluctantly behind.  
"I'm not the one with food in my pockets," the delinquent mumbled.  
"What the hell are you talking about? That's utterly disgusting; I'd _never_ keep food in my good coat pockets."  
He surveyed Kakashi's makeshift navy T-shirt and sweatpants with an air of obvious superiority.  
"Oh? No gang emblems today?" he sniffed.  
Kakashi frowned. This prick was really starting to piss him off. "Just because I never show up in school doesn't mean I'm an idiot-"  
"Could've fooled me."  
"...But wearing a gang uniform in public, when my gang _isn't around_, spells a direct reason to arrest me."  
"Alright, then. Kudos to you for knowing how to avoid juvey," Gai smirked, as if finding amusement in his own asinine comment. "Now stop following me."  
"I _can't!_" Kakashi twiddled his thumbs a moment. "Pakkun... is still glued to you."  
Gai's face was dumbfounded. "Pack in?"  
"_Pakkun,_" Kakashi corrected, pointing at the small animal now sitting at Gai's feet. "He's really taken to you. That's why I made the food comment..."  
Gai's face softened, becoming pleasant all over again. "Well, I don't have any food. Besides, he's sniffing my shoes, not jumping on me. He probably just smells my cat."  
He picked the dog up in an awkward way, leaving Pakkun to writhe and wiggle in his arms. He offered him to Kakashi, who gathered him right away.  
Gai seemed puzzled. "I wasn't aware you even _had_ a dog, much less you even _liked_ animals."  
Kakashi shrugged, scratching the dog beneath the chin. "I wasn't aware you were a cat person." That was an utter lie, again. Kakashi knew damn well Gai wasn't a dog type of person, but had guessed he was too much of a nice guy to dislike all animals...  
Gai grinned, and the Little Fang needed a moment to collect his senses. His teeth were bloody _huge_. And _incredibly_ shiny.  
Kakashi unconsciously smirked. So. This guy - this _Gai_ - wasn't all out on his sleeve after all. He pointed ahead, catching the other boy's attention.  
"I'm just going to Ichiraku's, so..." He stopped, suddenly paling. "Aw, shit!! The owner probably gave my bowl away already!"  
Gai laughed. "I'll buy you a bowl. I'm heading there, too."

Kakashi would wonder later if fate had been smiling on him that day or if it had been intent on destroying his life. He really couldn't tell, after all.

* * *

I know, this came out quick! XD But I had this sudden _urge_ to write this chapter, so I did! It only took me two or three days… 

By the way, do you like the new format? The little lines were getting on my nerves, I thought it'd be nicer to just break them into paragraphs...


	3. Peaches on Ice

Kakashi warily eyed the drink set before him, shifting uncomfortably as Gai took a hearty swig. He felt sort of odd accepting charity like this.  
"Is something wrong?"  
Kakashi shrugged, fingering the cup.  
"Have some," Gai stated, teasingly poking his chest. "It isn't poisoned."  
Kakashi was ready to protest when Gai fixated him with an intense stare.  
With an awkward handle, he picked it up, taking a hesitant sip. It was warm, yet fruity. Gai had extremely questionable tastes, he decided.  
"Well? What do you think?" the other boy asked pleasantly, smiling in a way that should suggest he say something nice in return, or at least make something positive up.  
"It's a little weird," Kakashi murmured, before catching the hint. "I mean, in a good way. It's... tangy."  
Gai nodded. "I thought it was too, at first. But you get used to it; I actually get a glass everytime I come here."  
Kakashi wasn't sure if he meant 'tangy' or 'weird' by what he'd just said. "What is it?"  
"I really don't know. It's called the Citrus Special, but it tastes peachy to me."  
Kakashi took another sip. It was actually pretty good, once you got used to it. "I usually prefer my peaches on ice cream."  
"Really? I've never heard of that before."  
"Yeah. My mom used to make it for me."  
A heavy silence settled between them as Gai realized he must have tread into dicey territory. That is, as long as the rumors were true...  
Gai sighed heavily, digging his fingers fervently through his jet black hair.  
"Alright, enough of this small talk. There's something I - _we_ - need to discuss."  
If Kakashi had any idea what he was talking about, he didn't show it. He instead continued to drink, eyes trained on the cherry wood surface of their table.  
Gai leaned forward.  
"I want to know why you stopped going to school. I know it wasn't always like this." His brow furrowed deeply. "There was a time when you were one of the best students in this side of the country."  
Kakashi didn't look up. He knew damn well Gai was definitely giving him the old 'I'm smart, and you're dumb' looks, just as each of his teachers and every family member before him had done. Right before...  
"So, Mr. Class Rep, Prez, whatever the _hell_ you are. I'm guessing that damn pervert from the Guidance office put you up to this? Tell you to straighten me out?"  
Kakashi was startled as he looked into Gai's face. He didn't seem smug at all now. Just... _concerned?!_  
Kakashi nearly choked.  
"Y-you're not seriously-!"  
"Look, I just want to help. Is school getting hard for you? I'll help you study!"  
_How can you fix what you've never even felt?!_  
"Oh? And what if it's not that?"  
Gai was quiet. Kakashi smirked, grim. He figured he'd probably figured it out right away, not that anyone hadn't.  
"Yeah. I have 'family stuff' right now. You don't have to be gentle with me because of it." He chuckled, almost cruel. "How do you propose you going about fixing that, eh?"  
Gai looked at him seriously.  
"I could be your friend."  
Silence. Not awkward, this time. Just hostile.  
Kakashi shoved his chair away, standing up.  
"I'm checking on Pakkun."  
"Kakashi!"  
The iron grip Gai had on his arm was almost inescapable. Kakashi wondered if he was getting weak, or if nerds these days were just becoming buff.  
"Why the hell not?"  
"Let go, dammit!"  
"I'm sure I'd do a hell of a lot better job than those potheads you screw with constantly!"  
"I said, _let go!!_"  
"_Do you even know their names?!_"  
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
"I _won't!_"  
The spindly teen stilled.  
In a shaky voice, Kakashi whispered, "What the fuck?"  
Neither of them were sure if it was the drugs, some sort of chemicals in the food, or even Kakashi's raw emotion finally just letting it all loose after being pent up for so long.  
But, eyes brimming with tears, he yelped, "Why the fuck do you give _me_ the special treatment? Why am I so different from the rest?"  
Gai's grip loosened enough to permit an escape on the other boy's part. But neither he nor Kakashi noticed.  
To be truthful, despite the practical guy he was, Gai had no inference, not even an educated guess of a way to answer that question.  
Maybe because Kakashi was the biggest problem child? Would taking him down and changing him be enough to move him up through the complicated hierarchy of your average high school? Was he really just in this for the pride?  
One look in Kakashi's eyes answered the new conflict instantly: no. Definitely not. There was something, something else he was missing...  
Gai took a deep breath. "I... I don't know, okay?"  
"Well, great! That really helps narrow it down, now, dunnit?"  
Kakashi balled his fists, bringing one up to rub a reddening eye, which almost resulted in him punching himself.  
"God, why can't you people take a hint? I don't _need_ help, a shrink, and I don't care if I ever go back because _things are never going to change for me!_"  
_Wait... why am I telling him all this...?_  
He almost blacked out then, gasping for breath as warm fabric engulfed him, calming his shuddering body.  
_Because... he's the only one who cares?_  
"That's a laugh," Kakashi mumbled into Gai's chest.  
Oh. What?  
Kakashi did a double-take.  
He looked up, slowly, to find that they were - dare he say it? - _hugging_.  
In the middle of a ramen shop.  
In public.  
How... _gay._  
And what was that overwhelming scent of a freshly cut lawn?  
Kakashi coughed, blushing as he shoved the bigger boy away. He brushed himself off before patting Gai's shoulder.  
"O-okay. Not interested, but thanks anyway."  
Gai rolled his eyes, face also redder than the spatters of blood on their gang's pipes had been last week. Before they washed them off, of course.  
"You're the one who hugged me. I was just going along with it."  
Kakashi started, "What did you-?" when the store owner came around front, grimacing.  
"I heard some yelling up in here. You lot fine?"  
"Everything's just fucking peachy, Pops," Kakashi sneered, hardening again. "I'm outta' here!"  
"Kakashi, wait uh-!"  
Gai found himself stopped as a strong hand clamped down on his shoulder.  
"Yo!" the store owner growled. Gai winced at the garlicky smell. "You paying for this or what?!"

Kakashi ate dinner that night with his father. Both attempting to avoid conversation, they downed Chinese food Sakumo had prepared himself from the previous night, the noodles sticky and cold. Kakashi wanted to gag.  
Neither spoke a word for a while, yet this seemed much worse than the fighting. At least when they quarreled, they got all their problems out on the table - both theoretically and physically. However, as Kakashi mentioned before, he detested uncomfortable silences like these. They made him feel small. And he didn't enjoy that one bit.  
He took a small bite of the greasy beef that had apparently just been heated. Sure as hell didn't seem that way.  
"It's... fine."

"I'm going to school now!"  
Kakashi yelled out the next morning, waiting for some sort of a reply. Or a retort.  
His brow furrowed. No voices echoed back. The almost derelict home was dead quiet.  
"Saku-uh, Dad?"  
"Where you goin'?"  
His father emerged from a darkened doorway, up earlier than usual, brandishing a cigarette. Kakashi swallowed; he seemed haunted, the way his eyes nearly sunk into their sockets, lined in dark circles. The result of lack of sleep and increase of drink and smoke.  
He blew out a breath of quivery smoke, almost invisible in the white light that cloaked the only un-shadowy regions of the home. The rest was pitch black, silhouetting his face and making him seem ghoulish.  
"I said, I'm going to school."  
Sakumo laughed, low and resentful, smoky like the tobacco filling his lungs.  
"Oh? And what'll you be doin' there?"  
"Well, not smoking pot, for once," he replied easily, remembering his fight with Gai the previous day.  
His father raised an eyebrow coyly in amusement. Kakashi rolled his eyes and head outside.  
"Hey, son?" Another ringlet of smoke. It hung listlessly in the still, dark air before dispersing as Sakumo walked through to stand on the front step.  
"Yeah, old man?" He could feel himself burning with pride. He was being responsible about _something_, for once!  
His father replied huskily.  
"It's Sunday."

* * *

I felt so awful writing the end of this chapter! Gawd, I'm so evil. Am I evil? I feel evil. Or at least cruel.  
Poor Kakashi - things are only just beginning to get worse for him... 


	4. The Choices Upon Which We Stumble

Eh... this chapter is a tad weird. XD;; Anyway, this is basically the chapter where it starts to get its **M **rating. Nothing happens, but there's a hell of a lot of innuendo.

* * *

Kakashi took a deep breath of the musty smoke, closing his eyes as pleasure racked his senses. He gave a weary sigh. It still felt oddly incomplete. Maybe he did have a soft spot for him, after all..?  
With hooded lids he flipped the hand-rolled cigarette in his hand, thin paper packed tightly against the grainy substance inside, flames crackling on the end opposite from the gentle skin of his palm. He took it in deeper this time, nearly choking as he forced the shaft deeper into the warm cavern of his mouth, pleasure and heat boiling in its base.  
Asuma rested, his chest to Kakashi's back, scrawny, unshaven beard tickling his companion's neck. Kakashi ignored him as he lazily raked his teeth along the nape of his neck, warm moisture from his mouth adding to the intensity of the heat all around them. Trickles of cold sweat rolled down the back of Kakashi neck. Asuma lapped them up. He figured Asuma was too high to realize what he was doing, and so let him be. Might as well let the poor guy vent the pent up sexual frustration off his chest until he got a girlfriend to let it out on. Though, seeing the sorry state he was in now, it was easy to tell why he didn't have one.  
Anko took a bite of her glossy black fingernails, glancing about in a paranoid fashion before cussing to herself when she realized that she had broken skin. She suckled the finger until the slow and teeny trickle of blood stopped.  
Several hours floated by, blending together like snowflakes against a white winter morn. In a gruff voice, Asuma spoke up.  
"There's... this girl."  
"Kakashi?" The brunette boy adjusted his bandana to cover less of his forehead; it was damn hot.  
"No, idiot. He said _girl_." Anko rolled her eyes at Genma. Kakashi ignored both statements with a shrug.  
"Woooah. Gen, when'd you get here?"  
"'Ave been here all afternoon, idjat."  
"Bah," Anko hissed with a roll of her eyes to Asuma. "Maybe you outta' ease up on the cocaine there, Einstein."  
"Maybe you should too, Anko. You're looking a little jumpy there." Kakashi smirked at her. "The little mermaid sitting on your shoulder telling you to burn things again?"  
At this the group guffawed, the fits of laughter brought on more by the over dosage of smoke and whatever happened to be in their systems today rather than actual amusement.  
Anko sat up in return, squaring her shoulders. At first Kakashi thought she might be getting up. There was a snap before her shoulders slumped again. Oh. So she just wanted to crack her back.  
"No, sadly," was the delayed reply. "That's on tomorrow's to-do list."  
"So," said Genma quietly, thankfully breaking the awkward pause between the two. "What about this girl, Asuma?"  
"She's real pretty. Lives down the street," he yawned, stretching to sit beside Kakashi rather than lay on top of him. He lowered his voice with a frown. "I think she's too good for me, though."  
"Hey! That's no way to talk!" Anko gripped her pipe, tossing it in the air and catching it with surprising precision. "We could _threaten_ her into liking you!"  
"Oh, _please_," Genma mumbled, rolling his eyes. "You're not _seriously_ thinking of whipping that old thing at her, are you?"  
He smirked, teasing a needle between his teeth. Kakashi twitched. The light glinted off the small drop of liquid that hung off its pointed end. He was sure that wasn't safe; not cleaning an injection needle and then just screwing around with it in your mouth.  
"We could always do it the easy way." He smirked, waving a small vial filled to the brim with pills he had tugged from his pocket. "Date rape drug."  
Asuma's face fell visibly. "I don't want to _get with her_, I just want to _date her!_" He turned to Kakashi, worriedly. "You're an expert. What should I do?"  
Kakashi raised a sullen eyebrow at him. "_Me?_"  
"Yes, you!" Genma roared, laughing. "You're a regular Cassanova - what, you tap four a day or what?"  
Truth be told - though he would never admit to it - Kakashi's stories of sex, mysterious women, and moonlight quickies were all various and well-written _lies_. They were actually scenes from a very inappropriate-for-his-age series he'd found beneath his father's bed in the ninth grade, one that was actually written by a well-known, local author. And while at the time Kakashi had found them useless and uninteresting, as of two months ago they's become an important source of information to intrigue and lie to his gang members about. They certainly didn't read them, and if they did, they had a thing for forgetting things rather fast anyway.  
"So?" Asuma pleaded again, hands folded together as if praying to the god of sex who, coincidentally in this case, happened to be a virgo.  
"Just..." Kakashi racked his brain for some sort of solution. Asuma and Anko were both staring at him wide-eyed and intent, Genma's expression a tad more skeptical.  
"Well?" he asked in a milky voice. "Go ahead. Tell us your secret."  
"You should..." he chewed his lip, pretending to be pondering a way to arrange his words.  
Genma raised his eyebrow at him with a I'm-smart-and-you're-dumb sort of look... and it clicked.  
"...Talk to her."  
Asuma blinked. "What?"  
"Eh??" Anko and Genma grunted in unison. "_Talk..?_"  
"That's right. Yeah." Though Kakashi himself wasn't sure what had possessed him to say it. "Just have a normal conversation with her, get to know her."  
"That sounds like a line from a chick flick," Anko snorted.  
"It's unlike you." Genma snorted. Asuma considered his proposal with a dreamy expression.  
"It could work. S'not like it'll hurt at all." Then, with newfound vigor, "Yeah! I'll try it!"  
Kakashi laughed half-heartedly, patting Asuma on the back. "Maybe I should write it on your forehead or something, so you don't forget." 

"_Really?_ You're kidding!"  
"No, no, it's what they say. Why, aren't you?" Gai gave Kakashi a questioning glance.  
"Honestly, do you even know what that _means?_" Kakashi laughed easily, leaning in to whisper into Gai's ear.  
The uber-browed boy blushed. "Oh. OH!"  
Kakashi settled back, laughing. "Gang-bangers _rape_ people, like, in gangs. Another term for 'Gang bang' is 'Gang Rape'. Relatively, a gang-banger is someone who travels in a gang and rapes people. My gang doesn't _bang_, Gai."  
"Well. I suppose it's become somewhat of a casual term, now, hasn't it?"  
"Or someone's spreading rumors about me," Kakashi accused playfully, bringing his cup to his face.  
With a smirk, Gai watched as Kakashi took a sip of the sweet, supposedly citrus-blended drink. He took note of how Kakashi closed his eyes as he did, smile broadening, cheeks flushed. It'd gotten rather cold in the past few hours, oddly enough. It had been boiling this morning in school. Gai shrugged off the odd weather with a snort. It would soon be winter break, after all. It wasn't as if it was normal for a warm front to hit them this time of year. He glanced at Kakashi as the shorter boy shivered, pulling his battered gray (though by its faded hues, Gai guessed it had probably once been green) jacket around himself, shivering. It probably didn't help they were hanging around one of the outdoor seats.  
Gai stood up, taking a moment for wild shivers to shake his body. He rubbed his clothed arms, a clear trail of vapor leading from his mouth with every shuddering breath. "Hey," he stated, catching the other boy's attention. "Let's move inside."  
Kakashi nodded, grabbing his cup. Together they ran, hunched over to protect themselves from the harsh cold, to the inside of the humble ramen shop.  
As they recovered new seats, Gai took a deep breath. "So... about that offer I made you."  
Kakashi raised a suspicious eyebrow at him. "Yeah?"  
Gai shifted around in his seat, uncomfortable over the idea of breaking this - as of a few hours ago, anyway - decently-established relationship at the mention of their recent spat.  
"I could... y'know. Tutor you."  
He braced himself for the punch, the words, the squeak of a chair and padding of feet as Kakashi ran off...  
"Alright."  
Gai opened his eyes. "You mean it?"  
"Yeah," Kakashi mumbled with a smile, eyes on the table. "I'd... like that."  
The easy way to which they spoke to each other, the way in which they intercepted each other's comments and friendly chatter in light blushes and warm reactions made them seem, to surrounding employees and customers, to be a couple.

* * *

Hmmm. I still feel the ending of the first half was a tad rushed, but I couldn't work it any other way. **Reviews are Appreciated! X3**


	5. Extra Credit

Sorta' short, but I like this one. We get into some rising action and more lovey-dovey hints in the next chapter. Hyuk hyuk.

* * *

"All right, then! How about-"  
"Forty-two."  
"Yes, but could you explain _how_ you got to-"  
Kakashi tugged Gai's sheet of paper away to jot up an equation in the corner.  
Gai released a rather long, breathy sigh after he finished checking over it, thick eyebrow cocked in that oh-so-burdened way Kakashi disliked.  
"I just..." He shook his head, an odd, unreadable smile tugging at his lips. "Just... wow."  
Kakashi tilted his head at him slightly, eyes calm and focused as he remained, head still down on the table, hands splayed.  
"Good wow?"  
"Good wow," Gai confirmed.  
Kakashi felt a small buzz in his chest, a sort of repressed excitement. He knew he shouldn't rejoice just yet. Maybe he should ease up on the already lacking dosages of coke and other narcotics (or whatever his gang happened to inject was, he wasn't the one who bought it) just in case. But he wasn't too rusty at this school stuff. In fact, he might actually be doing better than before, which was odd. He didn't think his "situation" had changed much, which was what had caused him to fall flat on his face in the first place. But then again...  
With a small glance at Gai, he smiled. If they kept this up, Orochi sensei would be eating his words...

_"And just why the hell not?!"  
Orochimaru winced at the sudden language, brow furrowing in plain annoyance.  
"I just _can't._ It's against the rules."  
"Well, the rules suck!"  
Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest, pouting rather childishly as he glared his teacher down. Orochimaru sighed.  
"You can't make up for two months of school in two weeks of winter break. It just can't be-"  
"Then I'll give up weekends! My spring holiday!"  
"That's also forbidden. You will repeat your senior year, and that's final."  
Kakshi slouched forward, his hand nearly bent back as he leaned full force on it against the older man's desk. He felt dizzy, so very dizzy. He wondered what was bringing up this faint spell, anyway - his under dosage as of late, or perhaps the idea of being left behind by...?  
Orochimaru studied the boy's face, looking for something, anything to prove he wasn't _really-_  
"You're serious about coming back, aren't you?"  
Kakashi straightened up, blushing.  
"I-I guess..." he murmured, squaring his shoulders. Orochimaru smiled.  
"Well then. How about this." He stood up, heading towards the window.  
"If you can catch up to everyone by the end of the break and work your way to the top slot by the end of the year, I might consider letting you graduate.  
"_However,_" Orochimaru cut in, catching Kakashi's mood brightening, "Only on the condition that you miss not one more day of school. It doesn't matter if you have a doctor's note."  
He held up a single finger. "Just one day, and the deal is off."  
Kakashi stared at him, seeming only mildly shocked by the wager. He took a few moments, whether to mull it over or find a way to haggle Orochimaru he wasn't sure, but when he finally spoke, it was with utmost confidence.  
"You're on, Orochi-sensei!"  
They shook hands and, before Kakashi could sprint out the door, the dark haired man spoke up again.  
"I trust you'll need a tutor?"  
Kakashi smirked. "I got one!"  
He was almost down the hall when his teacher called again. "Oh, and Kakashi?"  
He skid to a halt, eyebrow raised. "Yeah?"  
"Stop calling me Orochi-sensei."_

"Do you think Orochimaru would tutor me?"  
Kakashi and Asuma both felt they shouldn't be too shocked by this point, given the particularly sober evening the three had shared at Anko's request, yet the statement still caught them off guard.  
"And just why wouldn't he?" Asuma scoffed, fumbling in the pockets of his ragged blue coat for a cigarette pack and a lighter. He offered one to Kakashi, who put up his hand in light refusal.  
"I dunno..." Anko murmured. With her un-feminine Wellingtons, she traced a small group of squiggles in the light snow, barely visible in the lack of light and dim glow of street lamps. "I haven't been there in a while."  
All three were silent as Asuma exhaled a few little rings of tobacco smoke, mixed indefinitely with the sudden heat of his breath on the frosty air.  
"So. I guess it's settled, then. We're all going back."  
More surprises as Asuma took on a new sense of conviction, making the choice for them rather than laying back and floating along with everyone else. They both looked to Kakashi, smiling, for once, without the help of stimulants.  
A smile tugged Kakashi lips, his chest suddenly tingling. "You're... you're with me on this?"  
"All the way," Asuma said calmly. He smirked.  
"Hell yeah!" Anko exclaimed, punching the boy in the shoulder. "We ain't letting you repeat senior year all by yerself!"  
"Oh, right." Kakashi smiled sheepishly now. "About that..."  
He explained to them his deal with Orochmaru, right down to the consequences.  
Asuma shrugged, patting him on the back. "Either way, we're there for you."  
"'An no offence, Kashi?" The only girl in their little group very much resembled a Cheshire cat. "You're smart an all, but we really don't think you can do it."  
He blinked in surprise as she poked him square on the forehead and sped down the street. Asuma followed her with a laugh, tugging his scarf further around himself.  
"C'mon, ya lazy faggot!" He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb at a cozy looking restaurant with Christmas lights strewn across the threshold, blinking interchanging green-and-reds. "Yer paying!"  
Kakashi jerked himself awake to run after the two.  
Everything, for once, didn't suck shit bad.  
Unfortunately for the little group of three, they were forgetting several factors, and didn't notice the presence of an unwelcome bystander watching their child's play.  
"So," a gruff voice snarled as the three entered the establishment, "they think they can forget about me and the Konoha Elite, eh?"  
Zabuza's expression was eery in the dim light, frightening several younger children as they ran past the lamppost upon which he leaned, diagonal and out of seeing range from where Kakashi and the others had just been seen chasing each other about. His teeth glint in the low light of the broken glass that lay on the sidewalk, shattered from the very lamppost which gave it's last, flickering ember.  
"We'll see how fast they can change their minds when I'm through with them."


	6. Mal'chik Gej

The answer is yes, if you're wondering. The title of this chapter is taken from the song _Malchik Gay _by t.A.t.u. And, in Russian, it apparently means 'gay boy'.

* * *

"Please... please... don't vomit..."  
He was in a cold sweat, body racked with foul, hot shivers that sent him over the bowl again, retching as the contents of his stomach threatened to escape.  
"...P...lease..."  
Kakashi's voice grew fainter as he begged, wild convulsions of stomach acid boiling up in the back of his throat, but would not come out. He forced it back, voice growing with intense fear.  
"_Don't vomit..._"  
If he did, it was a sign he was giving in to the withdrawal. He didn't want to look weak before his non-existent audience, instead breathing hard as his knees buckled inward, back moving in tandem to his ragged breaths.  
With new conviction, he commanded his body to calm, despite the rigid nausea in the pit of his stomach.  
"God dammit, don't you-!"  
No. He'd lost the battle. He flushed the foul mixture, barely able to move or wince in disgust when the cold, dirty water hit his face in small droplets.  
"Kakashi? Are you alright in there?"  
"Go the hell away," he growled, voice low and struggling. "I... I don't need you."  
"Boy, are you alright? I heard a lot of retching and yelling in there - did you get sick? Can I help?"  
He hadn't heard him.  
"I said _go the hell away!_"  
Footsteps. Silence.  
He curled up on the linoleum tiles, eyes drooping. He really needed a damn shower.

He was saying something, and Kakashi was pretty sure he should be listening. Instead, he closed his eyes, the gentle yet rough voice rumbling in his ears. He sighed quietly, all memory of the vomit festival he'd had before Gai'd arrived washing away with the sound of his friend's voice; fresh, relaxing, like stretches and strokes of paint on an artist's canvas of pure back noise and sound.  
_I really..._  
"Kakashi..."  
_...like the sound of his voice..._  
Gai took a deep breath.  
"Can you repeat back everything I just said to you?"  
The other boy's eyes snapped open as he forced himself to sit up. He squared his shoulders in the nervous way he'd adopted, bringing a hand to his mouth.  
"Nn...not really..."  
No use; Gai had definitely heard him. The other boy sighed, rubbing his temples.  
"You haven't been paying attention lately, Kakashi. That's bad. Winter break ends soon, you _know_ that we barely have time to work on this..."  
Kakashi rolled his eyes, fiddling with a lavender bank pen. "Nag, nag, nag. Dammit, we're not _married_."  
Gai didn't even recoil at the words, deflecting them with a breathy sigh and yet _another_ eye roll.  
"Just focus, alright?"  
And it was the harmonious, deep-throated rumble again. Kakashi was ready to close his eyes when Gai spoke to him directly again.  
"English word for 'inu'."  
Kakashi winced.  
"Uh... grass?"  
Gai chuckled lightly, setting his textbook down. He folded his hands, looking over them at the other teen across the table.  
"_Dog,_ Kakashi. Dog." He gestured to Pakkun, happily scuffling beneath the table, as if to prove his point. "I'd expect you to at least know that."  
Kakashi shrugged, smirking. "I've never been real good with English."  
The comment forced Gai to smile and, defeated, he closed the book laying out before him.  
"I guess we can stop for today."  
The gray-haired teen nodded excitedly, grabbing his friend by the arm and claiming that he _had_ to check out this new shop down the way that he'd been to with Anko and Asuma a few days prior. Gai obeyed, nodding at the ongoing and excited chatter.

He noticed the littlest details. The changes in his behavior, the way he intercepted certain types of criticism... The way he smelled...  
It was frightening to realize the degree to which Kakashi had attuned himself to the other boy, and even more disconcerting was the idea of just how deeply he _wasn't_ alarmed by it. It wasn't even purposeful; he just saw these things other people missed so easily.  
"So. You like him or what?"  
It was a simple enough answer to what was going on between them, so Kakashi went with it.  
"Yes." He wasn't quite sure why his voice sounded so small just then, but then again it _was_ the first time he'd voiced his thoughts on the matter.  
Anko smirked before handing him a piece of black licorice and affectionately raking her fingers through his graying, fluffy tresses.  
"I knew it."  
Anko gave him a sideways glance accompanied by her crooked signature smile. But something else in her eyes flashed briefly as they looked into his. They studied deep into the strange, discolored irises, onyx reflected on blue and brown. Kakashi realized a moment later that it was disappointment.  
"It's just... Incredibly obvious," Anko said, misinterpreting his return expression. She leaned onto the brick-patterned wall, gnawing on her own candy. Kakashi merely twirled his between his middle and forefingers with a small frown. She didn't speak for a long time.  
"Every time you're near him," she began, the sound of her voice catching him off guard. He stiffened; her tone had been considerably changed. "You just look so... animated. You move and synchronize to everything he does, and everything he says severely affects you one way or another."  
She watched him curiously, as if staring at him long enough would explain to her how such a thing was possible. He moved awkwardly under her stare, hesitantly taking a bite from the black piece of twisted candy. He winced, never having cared for their odd taste as Anko had.  
"Well, then," she chirped, suddenly brightening. "At least you already know that."  
"You're hiding something from me."  
Kakashi locked her under what he hoped to be an unsettling gaze. She tensed up.  
"Kakashi, I..." She bit her lip, looking at him timidly. They waited, several black hairs coming loose from her bun in the suddenly fierce winds. She looked more disheveled then usual, and Kakashi had the urge to ask how her withdrawal, if she was quitting, that was, was going.  
"I was hoping if you ever did end up with a boy..." she offered slowly, smiling sheepishly, "that he'd be older. And, not to be rude, but better-looking."  
Kakashi snorted in disdain at her ridiculous statement, elbowing her in the ribs. She frowned disdainfully at him, elbowing him back.  
"Gai's plenty older than me. Three or so months, at least."  
"I'm _serious!_"  
"And he isn't that ugly."  
Anko fell silent, suddenly realizing that Kakashi found what she'd said to be offensive.  
"Um. I guess." She shrugged, rubbing his head again. "Good enough for _you_, anyway."  
The words had been playful enough, but Kakashi couldn't quite shake off the feeling that if she hadn't been a girl, he would've _definitely_ smacked her on the spot. Not that she ever acted like one. So she probably didn't deserve to be treated as one...

"Who the hell's this?"  
Kakashi frowned deeply at his father's obvious lack of tact. "This is Maito Gai, dad. I'm sure I told you about him."  
"Eh? He's the one who's tutoring you or whatever, right?"  
Kakashi honestly couldn't remember a time where he hadn't seen his father smoking, and now wasn't an exception.  
Gai studied the tall, lean man with an odd sense of displacement. Sakumo was an almost exact, if older replica of his son, with a slim build, gray, spiked hair and an oddly relaxed stance. However, his eyes were both brown, and had a cold slant to them; they seemed to automatically deem all those that they fell upon as underlings. Gai decided, with another look at the twisted, angry smirk that he didn't like this man in the least, no matter if he was related to Kakashi.  
The man had an air of discontent about him, and when he turned to leave the two alone, Gai was grateful. However, Kakashi seemed to have other plans, and quickly ran to catch up with him.  
"W-wait, where are you going?"  
"Out," Sakumo said in a breathy voice vaguely reminiscent of Kakashi's. His, however, Gai deemed impossible to imagine reflecting any type of easy-going or positive sort of emotion.  
The older man pushed past his son without sparing another glance.  
Gai ignored the rude outburst to set his books down and set up in Kakashi's den before coming back for his friend, only to find him still staring blankly at the door. Gai checked his watch. His father had left over five minutes ago.  
With a sigh, he reached out to his friend. "Kakashi..."  
He flinched under Gai's touch, moving his shoulder quickly to shake the hand off. Gai let it fall to his side.  
"Come on. We have work to do."  
Gai's eyes widened slightly as fingers sought out his own, taking his hand in their strangely cold grip. Kakashi inclined his head to him slightly, refusing to meet his eyes.  
Impulsively, Gai gripped Kakashi's chin, an odd sensation burning a hole in his chest. The mismatched pair of eyes watched him, unreadable.  
Kakashi didn't question the kiss.  
He didn't question the grip he was pulled into, or even why he was kissing Gai back. In turn, Gai didn't question why Kakashi was tugging him to the floor.  
Neither bothered to question why they were doing this now of all times, and in the middle of Kakashi's house, right before the front doorway where just about anyone could walk in and catch them in the act. But maybe that was because they both feared the answer.

* * *

Sigh. Sorry if it seems rushed, but I need to speed this up so we can get into the nitty-gritty of the real plot. 


	7. Smells of Sex

Eeeh! I'm late! So very, very late! Did you hate the hiatus? Was it too long? Funny, I start school and the urge to do some creative writing smacks into me just because a teacher tells my mom I'm good. Sorry this chapter may not be as long as I said. I still hope you enjoy it, and I will write like the wind so the next one will be out vereh soon! o3o

This chapter begins with sex. Sort of. :3 Goody for you.

* * *

"Ah!"  
Kakashi's entire body shuddered as Gai slipped a wetted finger between his legs.  
He wrapped his arms tighter around Gai's neck, squeezing his eyes shut. Kakashi bit back a heartfelt moan as Gai's fingers curled to brush the spot they'd come to know, and once again he felt himself shake in utter ecstasy.  
He wasn't sure how exactly he'd gotten here, but he guessed as much as maybe he had pressured Gai, climbing up and sidling himself into his lap. Christ, they couldn't get through one damn day without having an episode or fucking each other.  
"Th-thanks for suggesting we come here." _I don't know what I'd do if Dad walked in on us._  
Kakashi was about to say more when another thick finger found his entrance and he bit off in a gasp instead. And Gai's fingers were damn thick to begin without _two_ inside him.  
Gai gripped a smooth hip, lips gently moving in the feather-soft tufts of gray as he pumped his fingers slowly, letting the feeling spread and sink in. The other boy bucked against him, erection poking him in the middle.  
Kakashi's thighs quivered in anticipation of the next thrust, knowing full well it'd be one of the last. Gai pushed his thigh up, allowing him a better access point as he gave the final thrust.  
Kakashi came noisily, spilling hot liquid over the front of Gai's school uniform.  
He scowled as Gai released his grip, long enough to move his arms about Kakashi's waist. He pulled the other boy to him, kissing along the shoulder and up the neck. Kakashi's face flushed, but he kept the knowledge of what he was about to state in tact.  
"Oh. So you won't even put cookies in your 'good jacket' pockets, but you'll let _me_ release a pool of sperms all over it?"  
Harsh, yes, but Gai didn't seem to think so. He chuckled, pulling him closer still.  
"Yes, well. I find you much more appealing."  
Kakashi blushed, muttering something under his breath. It sounded kind of like, _When'd the hell _**you**_ get so suave, anyway?_ But Gai couldn't be sure.  
Kakashi pushed away with a scowl, getting up to find his clothes while full aware that Gai's eyes were on him. It shouldn't bother him, considering how many times they'd seen each other naked, but somehow the force of his stare made him uneasy. He dressed quickly to avoid dealing with the matter further. He couldn't help but wonder how his things had gotten under the kitchen table, considering they'd been having 'sex' (if you could call it that) in an arm chair...  
"Hey, Gai?"  
The uber browed bow looked up from studying Kakashi's ass.  
"What?"  
Kakashi snickered.  
"I was wondering." His face screwed up in a sort of confused expression. "How'd you know your parents wouldn't walk in on us at any minute?"  
Gai's face hardened. "What do you mean?"  
He hesitated a moment, wondering if it were too dicey a subject to get on. "I mean, no offence or anything, but you don't seem the type to bring guys over for sex all the time. It's odd enough you actually have plans for these situations, but-"  
"They work a lot."  
Kakashi frowned at him.  
"They... work a lot?"  
"Yes." Gai blinked, gaze unbroken. "That's what I said."  
"Right," Kakashi mumbled, eyes dropping. "Of course they do."  
_I just wish you'd let me in on what you're thinking._

"Eeh! Thanks, Orochimaru-_sama!_" Anko beamed at the older man. "I don't know what I'd do without you!"  
Orochimaru chuckled lightly. "You're going to have to repeat the year anyway, Anko, so forgive me for saying I'm surprised you'd go to such lengths just to barely pass this year."  
She shrugged with a crooked smirk. "Kakashi and Asuma are both putting out all of their effort, so why shouldn't I?" She paused a moment in thought, staring out the second-story window of the prim white school building. The yard was bare, but come tomorrow, the winter break would be over. "There's no way I'm letting those two surpass me. Especially not a crack-head like Asuma!"  
Orochimaru shook his head, curtains of black swathing his face. "Well, whatever the reason, I'm sure you'll do fine."  
To Kakashi, having already harbored a strong distaste of the man, the smile he gave to Anko just then wouldn't have seemed dashing. It was bone-chilling.  
Alas, Kakashi wasn't there, to warn her or otherwise.  
"I trust I'll be seeing you again soon?"  
Anko frowned at him, more puzzled than disappointed. "The school year's starting up again. I thought you said you'd let me on my own after that?"  
Orochimaru shrugged, smirking. "I lied."

Kakashi surveyed the stark white hallways, noting with little interest that the school's colors - green and gray - had been painted in two parallel lines along the walls, switching top-and-bottom positions every so often and giving off the appearance of two intertwined ribbons. He scowled (but not quite, he didn't want to be rude after all Gai did to help him) and sighed.  
"Daaaaaamn, it's weird being back here again."  
The other students seemed to agree, casting him vicious glances as he passed them, arms behind his head. He yawned, showing his indifference.  
"Someone's tired."  
Kakashi glanced warily over his shoulder, which was particularly hard considering his own arm was in the way. The same, friendly face, cocky smirk and bowl cut greeted him. He noted with smug, inward smile that Gai must have just barely managed to clean the cum stain out of the front of his uniform.  
Kakashi offered him a seductive smile.  
"Oh, I do? And as if you don't know _why._"  
Surprisingly, that got a cough and a nervous mutter out of Gai. Scarlet bloomed across his face, and Kakashi mentally patted himself on the back for putting it there.  
"Yeah, well y-"  
"SENPAAAAAAAAI!!"  
Both boys froze, Gai's retort cut off by the deafening (and more than a bit irritating) roar.  
Kakashi groaned as a sophomore bounded his way towards the two seniors, acting little more than half his age. But he wasn't paying attention to Gai, nor did he really notice he was there. Oh, no! Iruka's eyes were only for _one_ of the boys.  
"KAKASHIIII!!"  
The dusty-skinned kid nearly leapt into the older boy's arms, beaming at him with the most sickly sweet smile Kakashi had ever seen. Honestly, the kid could give someone a tooth ache.  
Whether it be the kid or the bad pun, Kakashi suddenly felt like vomiting.  
Iruka beheld Kakashi with eyes glazed over in admiration, the scar that jut across his nose crinkling at the ends. His bob of a ponytail bounced out of tune to his jumps and attempt at clawing up Kakashi even more, if that was physically possible.  
Yep. Yesterday's pizza was definitely coming up for the kid.  
"I'm sooo glad you're back! So much happened while you were away, and..."  
...And the brat could talk a mile a minute, too! Jesus, Kakashi would beat the shit out of him right now if he hadn't promised Gai that'd he'd-  
Oh, wait. Iruka had stopped, a while ago, too. The freshman was now glaring at Gai, who stood behind watching the couple's "reunion".  
"What're _you_ looking at? Don't you have work to do, _prez?_"  
Kakashi ground his teeth, about to snap at the kid when Gai cut in.  
"I'm waiting for you to stop molesting my _friend_, if you honestly don't mind."  
Iruka stuck out his lower lip in an annoyed pout, but bit back anyway. "Yeah, like senpai would ever be friends with a dork like you."  
Kakashi twitched.  
"In case you were _wondering,_" he growled, using the flat of his palm to shove the boy's face away from his, "we most certainly _are_."  
Iruka pouted childishly a bit more before retreating backwards, invisible tail between his legs. Gai seemed very satisfied with this answer, and he smirked.  
"Well. Looks like you just disappointed your fan club, Kakashi."  
The slimmer boy shrugged, ignoring the impaled look on Iruka's face. Jeez, the kid was acting just like a puppy whose owner had just smacked it over the head for the first time for being too damn yappy. Not to say this was the first time. He just acted like it was.  
"But Kakashiiiii," he whined, pointing accusingly at Gai. "He's such a _dork_."  
Gai looked absolutely stung. "What? What makes you say _that?_"  
"Well," Iruka replied grimly, "it looks like your mom still cuts your hair for you."  
Kakashi snickered, lightly bringing up a hand to cover his mouth. "Are you a momma's boy, Gai?"  
The tallest of the three threw his hands to the ceiling in exasperation. Kakashi noted the several stares they had earned.  
"Who's side are you on, Hatake?"  
"Yeah!" Iruka chided. "Whose?"  
"Whoever I feel like," he mumbled. Iruka's clawing on top of Kakashi paired with Gai's reaction was... well, making a scene. He didn't (and tried not to) show it often, but Kakashi hated attention. Especially unwanted attention.  
"C'mon," he mumbled, gripping the fabric of Gai's shirt. Without heeding protest, he began dragging him down the hall, blushing furiously as a few people catcalled. It would've been better if they were a bunch of fan girls, rather than the guys who just wanted to bust their balls. Maybe this was better in a way, since they weren't implying anything. Only not really.  
"Whoa, Kakashi-"  
"Just shut up."  
"But-"  
"I _said_," he growled, teeth grinding again, "_shut up._"  
Silence, only the tapping of footsteps on the floor echoing around the halls to break it.  
"...We're not going to the same classes. And besides. They're on the other side of the building."  
Kakashi glanced behind him, scowling. Of all the times to tell him that! They couldn't go back now. Though the crowd may have dissipated...  
"Jeez, Gai. You're so anal."  
Gai's jaw tightened, and he penetrated Kakashi with a hard stare.  
"Don't get like that. Stop it with the references already."  
He stopped talking when he realized how pallid Kakashi had become. Oh. He hadn't meant it like that.  
Kakashi swallowed nervously, face flushed. "Fine. I can't miss anymore class, anyway."  
He shoved past Gai and, without a second glance, began walking quickly away from him. Remembering the risk of public humiliation on Kakashi's part (Gai didn't exactly have what one would call a "reputation"), he resisted the urge to reach out and kiss the boy.  
Instead, he didn't budge, even as the bell rang. It was sometimes best to let Kakashi just deal.


	8. Farcical

"Ka-!"  
His yelp of protest was broken off by a hand. Kakashi shook his head, making "shush" gestures before pulling Gai into the empty classroom.  
"_Jesus_, Kakashi, you know you can't skip! Orochi said-"  
"First of all," the smaller teen interrupted, "Orochi said I couldn't skip _school_. He said nothing about periods themselves. And beside that; I have a free period." He paused a moment to glance at Gai, eyebrow raised. "And when did _you_ start calling him 'Orochi'?"  
"Well," Gai murmured, face flushed. He had sort of involuntarily picked it up from Kakashi.  
Kakashi seemed to catch the nervous stutter in Gai's voice and dropped it with a shrug. He then gripped his - what were they, anyway? boyfriends? lovers? "friends" seemed the least farcical - oh, _whatever_ he happened to be today's wrist, leading him out the door and down the hall without bothering to ask if Gai could afford to sacrifice this period or not. Meanwhile, said boy decided he'd just make ramen when he got home. Lunch wasn't all that important, especially if Kakashi was going to do what he _thought_ he was going to do.  
Kakashi's graying head whipped to either side, searching for spies as they stopped in front of a janitor's closet. The sight would have been comical, except their asses really _were_ on the line if they happened to get spotted. Which meant Kakashi was _indeed_ doing what Gai had first thought he was implicating, what with all the hushed tones and dodgy, secretive moves. Despite himself, a grin began to form on Gai's face.  
Kakashi finally decided it was safe before shoving them both inside (_How did he know it'd be open?_ Gai wondered) and resting his back against the door, listening for any movement before locking it.  
"All right. This period ends at-" he paused to check his watch, "-about twelve-forty, so..."  
His train of thought derailed when he caught the manic grin on Gai's face. He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "What're you so excited about?"  
"N-nothing!" Gai protested defensively, dropping his voice to a hushed whisper when he remembered where they were. "It's just... I dunno... _exciting._"  
Kakashi struggled to repress a smirk at the idiotic comment, but he could feel it leaking through anyway. It came out crooked as he replied, "Quite the enthusiastic one today, aren't we?"  
Gai blushed, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, well..." he muttered, "your mom."  
Kakashi genuinely laughed at this, quickly covering his mouth. Jeez; at this rate, they'd spend the whole time chuckling and mouthing off rather than breaking major rules. And which did Kakashi usually prefer?  
It was a close call, but he'd have to say the latter.  
Gai flattened himself against the smooth, cold surface of the wall for god knows what reason, except that maybe he was startled from just what they were about to engage in. Kakashi got on his knees, inching close to him and wondering if the little light bulb - and only source of light - hanging from the ceiling would fall and shatter all over them. It was swinging rather violently, though it was calming down now that all was quiet.  
Kakashi unzipped Gai's fly and pulled out his already throbbing member in a swift but ginger movement, placing his lips over the blunt head. He could hear the stifled gasps and moans, despite Gai's best attempts to repress them. He mouthed it over the tip and slipped it between his lips numerous times, earning several endearing noises. He was vaguely aware of the hand that had been resting against the wall near his head rising out of view, probably to try and muffle the desperate sounds further.  
Kakashi suddenly found himself thinking it'd be funny to see how Anko might react to this, and if it'd be a stomach-turner or a turn-on for her. She seemed to find the idea of boys with boys "attractive". How lovely the world would be, if everyone were to think like that and everything was made of rainbows and chocolate.  
Kakashi nearly gagged as Gai came into his mouth, suddenly brought back into reality: he was sucking Gai off in a janitor's closet when they _should_ probably be using the free period to study. Whoa. Harsh reality.  
He swallowed it, wincing a bit at the odd sensation it brought forth. Come to think of it, he didn't know if it was really okay to swallow - hey, could you get pregnant swallowing sperms?  
Gai coughed, struggling a bit to shove his dick back in his pants and zip it up. Probably disoriented, the poor thing. Kakashi snickered, cutting him some slack to help.  
"Careful there, you'll hack it off on the zipper if you're not careful," Kakashi mocked.  
"_Shut it,_" Gai rumbled through grit teeth.  
When they had finally managed to fix themselves up, they head out the door together, casual walk becoming a sprint when the bell rang off-schedule.  
And if they hadn't been rushing, they might've noticed that in the dim light of the closet, a small, green light lazily blinked before automatically performing the task it was made for. It gave a small, solitary, _click_, and then the camera's light faded to red.

"God _dammit!_" Zabuza scowled, flipping the case open. "I forgot I even left it there..."  
He examined the camera with annoyance. He must have given this to the janitor _ages_ ago; he said he was going to fix it, but since Zabuza never showed up at school, he never got it back. He had just remembered it today.  
He frowned, suddenly aware that both the film _and_ the battery had somehow run out. He grit his teeth, causing several freshman to flinch away and quicken their pace past him. A teacher frowned at him from the doorway. Why was he even hanging around? Couldn't he just leave them in peace?  
Zabuza ignored the hostile stares, still pondering the shape of his once precious camera. He had been in the photography club once, because it seemed to be the only thing he was good at aside from kendo. He would have almost been forced to quit, too, because of the similar scheduling of the two activities if he hadn't begged the old stacked-up hag to change the dates of a few of the meetings. But that was a long time ago, back when he was Momochi Zabuza, a struggling or maybe just plain stupid student. That wasn't who he was anymore; he hadn't been called much besides _Demon_ these days.  
But back to his current predicament; how had his camera gotten so run-down?  
He found the answer within minutes, absently leaning against one of the lockers as he inspected the settings. Someone had put it on automatic, probably after accidentally bumping into it.  
Zabuza pulled away from the locker he'd been holding hostage, much to the relief of a stoned looking, dark-eyed boy. He vaguely recognized him; Salamander, or some sort of lizard. Gekkou, maybe?  
He absently wandered towards the double doors, ignoring the lightened aura and sighs of relief that sounded behind him. He grit his sharp, animalistic teeth; _Just you wait._  
On his way out, he failed to recognize the boy he shoved out of the way, causing his girlfriend to jump back and catch him before he nearly stumbled off the steps.  
Asuma froze when he caught sight of the retreating boy's back, face draining of all color.  
"_Zabuza,_" he whispered.  
Kurenai, the pretty, black-haired girl he'd been chatting with (before Zabuza had shoved him and she'd been forced to save his ass from a bruising), frowned in confusion, eyes following where Asuma's had locked.  
"Asuma? What is it?"  
He shook his head, standing on his own two feet before brushing himself off. "It's no one."  
Still, he wrapped a protective arm around her waist.

"Oh, screw _off_, will you, Hyuuga?"  
If it had been the pallid-eyed Hizashi's "older" twin brother, Hiashi, who was teaching history down the hall, he would have given Anko a stern talking to before dragging her down to the office by her ear.  
But Hizashi was not his brother, so he merely smiled at the incredibly rude outburst.  
"I just wanted to know if everything was alright at home."  
Anko sighed, crossing her legs beneath the pleaded skirt. Hizashi vaguely noted that she had cut a centimeter or so off; he could see the jagged edge that only a pair of scissors (_Or a knife,_ his mind provided, but he shook the idea away) could make.  
"Yeah, look," she grumbled. "I don't like talking about that."  
"And I won't make you." She usually shivered when those pupiless, lilac eyes settled on her, but for some reason Hizashi's seemed warm; she couldn't say the same for the history professor, and he was _always_ on her case.  
"But I need to know," he continued, distilling her thoughts. "I don't need details. Just a quick answer; 'yes' or 'no' will do fine."  
She stared at him for a few minutes. Although he didn't look it, he was younger than Orochimaru. He was tall and muscularly built, yet at the same time he seemed slender and slight, much unlike his rigid older brother. They had the same eyes and shoulder-length, dark umber hair. But the strained look in his face remained the same, making him look much older than twenty.  
Still, despite the obvious signs of age, Anko decided was was almost sort of... handsome.  
"It's... the same as it's ever been," she muttered. She suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious.  
"Which would be?" Hizashi inquired, not at all rudely. He folded his hands on his desk, watching her with intent, yet calm eyes. She wanted to tell him, and the fear growing in her chest might constrict her if she waited any longer.  
"_Bad_," she confessed. She swallowed.  
Hizashi sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "Anko," he began, "the reason I asked..."  
He hesitated, as if not sure how to continue. She implored him to go on with her eyes.  
"You've been awfully friendly with Orochimaru lately."  
Anko looked stung, having obviously not expected _that_ little page-turner.  
She was silent a couple of minutes, staring at her feet. Hizashi began to worry when he noticed the extremely blank expression on her face.  
"I-it's not like that," she whispered her voice trembling. "First Kakashi, and now _you?_"  
Her voice was picking up tempo fast, and if Hizashi didn't say something now she was sure to break. But no words came out of his mouth; he didn't know how to deal with fragile things like her.  
"Orochimaru is just _helping_ me pass what part of the year I have left, and maybe..." her voice trailed off and she bit her lip. "I want him to help me next year, too."  
Hizashi frowned. It was good that she had decided to come back full force and not slack off just because she was doomed to repeat the year. But something about this still didn't smell right, if it was Hizashi's mistrust for his pallid, frightening co-worker or the odd, over-protectiveness he'd begun to feel with his students.  
"Are you _sure?_" he urged. "He hasn't tried anything with you?"  
Anko looked shocked. Hizashi hoped to the powers that be it was because of the force of the accusation, not because he actually had.  
Anko looked at the floor again.  
"He hasn't done _anything._"

Zabuza grit his teeth in annoyance as yet _another_ picture turned out to be a dark, barely comprehensible shot of the inside of the janitor's closet.  
_Ooh, I am __**so**__ making him pay for a new roll of film!_ He twitched in barely contained anger again as he hung it up to dry. _Among other things..._  
He surveyed the developing photos that hung to clothespins from a wire stretched about the red-lighted room; each one looked identical and could have passed for copies. Every so often the light seemed to shift, or the janitor himself (_That dead man,_ Zabuza thought with relish) got in a shot. But otherwise...  
Zabuza paused in soaking another undeveloped picture, catching sight of a familiar figure. He raised a non-existent eyebrow in suspicion.  
"Kakashi?"  
He hung it to dry and waited a few minutes for the picture to show tangible shapes. And when it did, his suspicion only grew.  
"What the hell...?"  
Several hours and many pictures later, Zabuza was no longer angry _or_ suspicious. Okay, maybe a _bit_, but did that really matter? These were all he needed to understand now.  
He chuckled, a low, threatening sound. You couldn't make out much, since the camera had been set low and in minimal light, but there were shots of Kakashi on his knees... and pushing his hands into the class president's pants...  
_So. That's why he left me, eh?_  
Things were only about to get more interesting.

* * *

:'D Are you proud? I updated! Anyway, now that I know you can edit chapters without killing the reviews, I'd like to know if you'd want me to reformat the story or not to be double-spaced. I wouldn't mind, really. I rather you be able to enjoy it than lose 90 percent of your vision (and patience) while you read it. XD 


	9. Qualm before the Storm

Hello, everyone! Do you even remember this fic? I'm sorry! That's partially my fault! XD; Actually, it's completely my fault! I'm a horrible person. I should quit while I'm ahead, but I won't. For the sake of all four people who want to read this! (although, it's more like a dozen...)

But I've decided; you **review**, I **update**. Even if I have to bust my butt and fight wild grizzlies just to get a chapter up, I will, but only if you review. I want to hear what you guys think! Is this wrong? Is that funny? Did you enjoy/not enjoy that part? I'd love to know!

* * *

Kakashi went white-faced as he began to slide the contents of the package out. He kept them there, at mid-pull, breath caught in his throat. He couldn't move. He didn't want to, either.  
He glanced over his shoulder, mildly reassured by the sounds of Gai bustling around the kitchen, a small cuss issuing forth when he burned himself on the stove.  
Kakashi quickly returned his attention to the photos - he hadn't seen much yet, but he knew what was coming. The first one had been of him, partially obscured, looking over to his side with an open mouth as if talking to someone as he dragged them inside, which wasn't far from the truth. These were from the other day.  
The feeling of defeat began to sink in, burrowing into his gut as the scene was replayed before his very eyes. Had he really looked so annoyed at Gai that day? He should apologize. It isn't nice to scowl at someone right before you suck them off.  
But the funny thing was, that was where the pictures ended. Him kneeling in front of Gai. There was a note in the back of the pile, though;

_I've got worse._

_And the negatives, probably,_ Kakashi thought grimly, slipping the contents back inside. He supposed he'd have to wait for the next package to learn where and when the ransom exchange (if that was the purpose here, and he couldn't imagine any other) was supposed to take place. Still, he had the worst feeling that maybe he knew who was behind this. It was kind of obvious. Who else would have anything against him? Who was the one they had abandoned by going back to society and, in the process, the real world?  
Kakashi could remember it well; living on the streets day at a time not because his dad said he didn't want him there, but because he _assumed_. Even now he had trouble looking at him, though he wanted to say he was sorry, and he truly was. He knew he'd worried him. His dad had never done anything to deserve such treatment.  
Still, here he was, sitting in Gai's living room with a navy blue scarf pulled around his face. He shivered, breathing out a miniature cloud. He had begun spending a lot of time here, and came to realize something Gai didn't seem keen on telling him. With a sigh, he shifted, attempting to get comfortable. Maybe his dad could wait. He had a lot of things to figure out right now.  
Like what he was doing here.  
He loved Gai. Or at least, he thought he did. Why else would he hang around all the time, worry feverishly about what he thought and what he was doing when Kakashi wasn't there? It only seemed right. He wasn't willing to beat around the bush, yet here he was refusing to tell him. It was one of those things many people either found easier to think than say, the other way around, or perhaps neither. Kakashi felt like the latter, but he couldn't bring himself to just outright say it.  
As Kakashi drowned himself in pointless musings, a thought suddenly occurred to him; where the hell was Zabuza living this time of year? He usually shacked up with one of them if he had to. Kakashi supposed he'd found a way. Even if he hadn't been one of those willing to clean up his act, Kakashi felt... worried. Zabuza, for all his talk, was on the fragile side. Handle with care, or you'll cut yourself on the thin, shattered edges.  
"Dinner's ready!"  
Kakashi followed the call into the kitchen to find Gai triumphantly smiling over a rather _good_ looking plate of pasta. He had a right to look cocky, for once; it scorched the roof of their mouths, but the warmth was welcomed by the two all the same. Kakashi wondered, with a small cough, what it'd taste like coming straight from Gai's mouth.  
Gai paused suddenly, swallowing what he had left of a noodle before watching Kakashi seriously.  
"You've been quiet all afternoon. Anything wrong?"  
_Yes, actually. Zabuza's blackmailing me, my father's about to go off the deep end and you've been hiding something from me._  
"I'm fine."  
Silence. Eating. They finished, and Gai insisted Kakashi not bother himself with his own dish, but he did anyway, helping with the drying. A few seconds later, as Gai attacked a sauce-encrusted pot and Kakashi was rubbing down a coffee mug, he spoke up.  
"Gai," he asked softly, "where are your parents?"  
He shrugged. Kakashi put the rag and freshly dried cup down.  
"I'm serious."  
"So am I. I really have no idea."  
Kakashi's voice faltered. "You mean, they aren't even in the Jashin district?"  
Gai stiffened visibly.  
"Stay out of it," he rasped, taking the abandoned rag and beginning to dry the pot. Kakashi tensed, knowing it was a signal to leave, but he wouldn't let himself. His feet remained glued to the floor.  
"I can't stay away from Jashin because I have too many people to visit."  
It had been a lie, of course. It was true Kakashi had people to visit there, but it was also true that his mother was dead and he never had the guts to visit her since that other person who had gotten himself mixed up with him wound up dead as well. But even though it was a lie, Gai didn't know that.  
He whipped around, staring at Kakashi with large eyes. Any attempt to fake nonchalance was ruined, the dishes forgotten, and suddenly they were sitting on his couch together, Kakashi resting comfortably against him, cheek-to-shoulder.  
"How'd it happen?"  
He hesitated.  
"Car crash... that was just my dad, though."  
"What happened to your mom?"  
He snorted. "What _didn't?_ Depression, drugs. I think living with her was how I was taught how to care for myself. It was an easy transition after she went, which she did a few months later."  
"Overdose?"  
Gai looked disgusted. "I wish."  
Kakashi had a sickening feeling that Gai's mother hadn't went so much as _left_.  
"So? I told you what happened to me. Now spill your troubles. I'm all ears."  
Gai had a very prose-like way of talking at times. He did read a lot; romance novels, unsurprisingly.  
Kakashi hesitated. "My... mother."  
Gai looked at him beseechingly, sensing the unspoken _and_. Kakashi bit his lip.  
"And... that's it."  
They were quiet a moment before Gai finally released a hefty sigh and began to get up.  
"I'm finishing those dishes."  
Kakashi flinched, leaping up after him. Gai glanced at him over his shoulder as he clutched onto his arm in an uncharacteristically womanly way. But Kakashi had been a little out-of-wack as of late; he just figured it was the real guy, not the gang-banger who wanted to belong, who was showing his true colors.  
He seemed desperate. "D-Did I do something wrong?"  
Gai smirked, seeing the flushed face and feeling glad he, and not the temperature, had put it there.  
"Naw. It's just..." He sighed, suddenly remembering why he felt frustrated. "I just feel like you're hiding something from me."  
Kakashi stiffened against him, uncoiling his arms and setting them pin straight at his sides.  
"_Me?_ You've been keeping your parents' death hidden from me for months! Months, Gai!"  
And he was fully frustrated again. He pushed past Kakashi into the kitchen but, not knowing when to give up, he was followed.  
Whipping around, Gai started in, opening his mouth to speak when a warm mouth covered his. He froze, unable to move as two arms wrapped around his neck. There was something weird, frightening almost about kissing like this; there wasn't any sexual intention hid beneath, no grabbing hands or fistfuls of hair being tugged while one of them straddled the other. There was tongue, but not a lot.  
Kakashi shoved himself off, leaving Gai to stand dumbfounded and breathless. The gray-haired teen scowled at him.  
"Don't go all mushy and red-faced on me, I'm not through yelling at you."  
But he was, and they fell into a laughing heap into one of the nearby chairs after Gai had swept him up, wrapped his legs about his waist, and carried him across the room.

Oh, judgment day. How Kakashi had stabbed and doodled obscene pictures all over its block on his wall calendar. With a _brown_ sharpie, too. He hoped it sent a message, because there were many ways that could be interpreted. He also hoped his father wouldn't see it, because halfway through he'd started to zone out and put stuff about Gai on there that would probably make his whole family disown him, not that they hadn't already.  
But back to the present: Mid-term announcements. The day everyone's scores and class rank were posted outside, and everyone saw it and got to know how they were doing. If worse came to worse, he'd have to see less of Gai to get his grade on track in time for Orochimaru's bet. The thought of hanging around home - and in the process, his father - lingered about his mind with contempt.  
Gai and Asuma met with him in the hall, and it took Kakashi a few mental kick-starts to realize that yes, they were sharing an animated (albeit macho) conversation and seemed to be getting along. Was that pretty, black-haired girl Kurenai? He hadn't seen much of Asuma in a while, but when he approached the group his friend didn't seem to mind and put an affectionate arm around the girl's waist. He'd obviously had other things on his mind.  
Finally, with Anko's breathless "hi, guys!" as she sprinted around the corner and met up with them, they completed their little group and set off to where the results were posted.  
And it was the results that left them breathless.  
Asuma was number forty-nine, which was just barely in the top fifty, but still saying something so he beamed with pride until spotting Kurenai at seventeenth. He immediately fell into a depression, which Kurenai was having a hard time coaxing him out of. Anko barely contained her excitement, letting out uncharacteristic little gasps and squeaks; _twenty-third!_ Not quite as good as Kurenai and not even half as good as Gai and Kakashi, but still good.  
It was the couple, Gai and Kakashi, that was most speechless.  
Tied. They were tied for first in class. Gai scowled at the two boxes, Kakashi above his because _Hatake_ came earlier in the alphabet than _Maito._ Not to say he wasn't proud. He was euphoric, actually, or he would have been if Kakashi hadn't spoken up just then.  
"Huh. I've scored higher." He was talking about past years, of course. Gai's face flushed in embarrassment because he never had.  
Word spread quickly of Kakashi's ludicrous rise to the top, and already hints of a scandal were being sniffed out; he cheated! Stole tests and threatened teachers! A menace to society! But they were forced to acknowledge the fact that Kakashi had actually once been a marvelous student, especially after they caught Asuma and Gai (who had gotten over his brief fit of jealousy) and who were both rather large for their ages cracking their knuckles and glaring at them menacingly.  
Kakashi's face hadn't changed. He was still looking at the board as if he expected someone to come by and take it down, saying it'd been a mistake and placing him in one of the bottom brackets. But no such thing happened.  
The world might as well have ended, leaving nothing but the wall standing, and still Gai guessed he wouldn't have moved. Which was freaking him out a little. He wished they weren't in public; he was sure a good molesting would wake him up, but he settled for a smack to the head. Kakashi didn't appreciate this, and voiced his opinion with a receiving punch in the stomach.  
Meanwhile, nobody in all of their rejoicing (or, for the students who didn't even made the wall, resenting) noticed Anko skip off to thank the man who had helped her come so far.  
"Orochimaru-senseiii!" She sang, opening the door and stepping inside.  
She found him hunched over his desk, holding a book in one hand and leaning on the other. He looked handsome, and yet not of this world, though she supposed that was her inner prejudice speaking for his skin condition.  
He acknowledged her in a surprisingly friendly manner, putting his precious reading material down and turning to look at her full-on. She blushed; not that he hadn't started being warmer with her as of late, but it still startled her a bit. Sure, the scowl was in, but smiling made everyone look gorgeous. With a few exceptions. (_I'm looking at you, Ibiki!_ she thought with an unexpected pang of bitter remorse.)  
"Anko," he purred, "what a pleasant surprise. Sit down."  
She did.  
"So?" He folded his hands with an oddly mischievous smirk. It was enticing. "How did it all go?"  
"Twenty-third!" she blurted, unable to hold it in any longer. "Twenty-third! And it's all thanks to you, Orochimaru-sensei!"  
He chuckled at her loud-mouthed response, flipping a curtain of raven-hued hair from his face. She could see his prominent, high cheekbones. Oh, he _did_ look young!  
She continued on, easily. He seemed to like it when she talked to him. "Kakashi got first, but I suppose you know that. I guess he won't be repeating the year af..."  
She looked sad suddenly, her eyes drifting off to the side. _Oh._ That was right. She'd have to brave that year alone. Perhaps Asuma would be there, but by the look of Kurenai, the newfound fullness of her face and difficulty with which she walked...  
"Anko?"  
"Hm-?"  
She froze as a hand snaked about her shoulders.  
When had Orochimaru circled behind her? She didn't know, and she didn't know why she minded. Her throat felt dry. Not in the usual way when she looked at him; this was something new.  
Her legs quivered as a freezing cold hand sidled about her chin and tilted it upwards, the raspy voice in her ear whispering;  
"Why don't we celebrate at my place after school?"  
And she couldn't refuse.

* * *

:( The next chapter, I'm warning you, is sad. There won't be any sex for a while, either. Just a heads-up.


	10. An Unharried Cycle

Er, wrote this Thursday, but I was busy with a concert and a road trip Friday and Saturday - no down-time for me! So I only now got done revising it. Enjoy. The offer to change the format stands.

* * *

Kakashi felt all the color drain from his face as he happened upon the schoolyard. Gai stood beside him in similar grim resignation.  
There were police cars everywhere - a couple girls Kakashi recognized as Anko's friends were being interviewed, as well as Asuma, who looked... well, confused and deeply sorry, to say the least. He kept shaking his head and looking at the cop desperately, who returned the motions.  
Asuma looked at Kakashi with such morose girth that the cop motioned him forward. Kakashi felt like his legs were made of a heavy and thick yet gelatin substance. He made his way over anyway.  
"Do you know Anko Mitarashi?"  
"Where is she?" Kakashi asked, voice suddenly hoarse. The cop looked at him, eyes hard.  
"She's... inside." He hesitated, as if the offer he was about to give would jeopardize his job. "Would you like to see her?"  
He didn't know what he wanted. Just yesterday he had been in school with her, and she had been happy about twenty-third place. But he hadn't noticed, because his world had been busily occupied by the thought; _We're going to stay together. Gai's not leaving me behind._  
The cop was still looking at him imploringly. Asuma repeated, "Kakashi. Would you like to see her?"  
Kakashi backed away, shaking his head. He suddenly felt dizzy.  
"No," he rasped.  
"Kakashi," Asuma faltered, glancing at the cop, "I think you better. She'd want to-"  
"Why? So I can rub it in her face that I was right all along?!"  
Everyone looked at him, shocked. The cop was blessed with the escape route all three besides Kakashi were wishing for right now; someone called him on his walkie-talkie. He nodded, listening, then put it away. With a begrudging mumble and what they guessed would be a lame-ass excuse if they'd managed to hear it, he slunk away.  
"_Why?_" Asuma whispered. It was dumb question. Kakashi had just told them the answer. But Gai pushed, rewording Asuma's stunned plea.  
"She won't feel like that, 'kashi. She needs friends. She-"  
"You don't even know what happened!" Kakashi yelled, glaring at him with seething eyes. Gai swallowed. Seeing Orochimaru getting hauled off had been enough explanation. They all knew.  
"Why are they grilling her here?" Asuma grumbled, adjusting his jacket collar. It was unseasonably cold.  
"Scene of the crime, maybe," Gai scoffed in disgust. The vivid image of what had just been yesterday was becoming fuzzy in all of their minds; it was hard to think of any of that with the knowledge that Anko had probably disappeared because she was skipping off to see her favorite teacher - a man she had never expected to hurt her so, and it happened because no one noticed her wander off.  
"Kurenai's pregnant," Asuma said softly. "Icing on top of the damn cake, if you ask me."  
"Oh," Kakashi whispered, finally speaking. "I'm sorry."  
"Sorry?" Asuma blinked. "I meant it. In all of this, I think Kurenai's having a baby is the only thing to look forward to. She told me last night." He smiled, humorlessly. "It was just ruined by... this."  
They were quiet, standing in the biting cold. Kakashi's ears hurt.  
"Congratulations," Gai said, also in subdued tones. He jammed his thumbs into his pockets, a habit he had taken from Kakashi.  
"So," Kakashi murmured, I'm guessing you'll quit school?"  
Asuma didn't hesitate. "Yes."  
Kakashi kept staring at the ground. A fire, a burning hurt was welling in his chest. "So you'll be marrying her?"  
Here he began to fidget. "Not all at once. I think she wants to finish school. I won't quit right away either, now that I think about it... I can carry her books... My ma told me it's not good to put weight on a baby, it strains 'um..."  
Asuma was sobbing. _Asuma._  
"Kakashi..." Gai reached out a hand to rest on his - well, as discussed before, they didn't didn't know what they were to each other - but anyway, when he tried to put a hand on his shoulder, Kakashi shook it off, knowing it hurt Gai more than saying nothing. It was clear Kakashi wouldn't visit Anko, and it was clear Gai wouldn't either because they technically weren't friends. Though it sounded awful, even to him, she wasn't the one he was worrying over right now.  
Kakashi scared the hell out of them by heading away in a dead sprint.  
"_Kakashi!_" Gai hollered, his voice choked with sobs. _C'mon,_ he thought. _Boys don't cry. Boys shouldn't __**ever**__ cry. Not even fags like us..._

Kakashi was somehow outside his house.  
He headed up the front steps, feeling lame in more ways than one. He wanted to help Anko - he really did. He was sorely regretting the fact he'd ran, but then he'd been delirious. He wanted to apologize to Gai, too, and Asuma - but he couldn't. He had the feeling it was too late now.  
He was suddenly very aware of his surroundings. In his stupor, Kakashi hadn't noticed his father's car still parked in the driveway when he should have left for work hours ago. Had something happened? Kakashi's stomach gave an awful lurch. He had slept over Gai's, not on purpose. But he hadn't returned all morning.  
So here it was. His chance to confront his father, off guard, and say he was sorry. Maybe he'd get something right today. There wasn't much else that could go wrong...  
He creaked the door open, which it was, unsurprisingly. Their door always seemed to be open despite the district they lived in, whether that be the result of their reputations as gang bangers combined or the fact Kakashi had inherited his forgetfulness to lock up and remember where he last left his house key from his father.  
"Hello?" Kakashi yelled. His voice echoed through the supposedly empty house. "Dad?"  
It was dead quiet.  
Kakashi walked forward, jumping a bit when an oncoming wind swept through and shoved the thin-excuse-for-a-piece-of-wood door closed.  
Wait - where was that wind coming from? There was only one window big enough to let that much air in, and it was in what used to be Kakashi's parents' room; his father had stopped sleeping in there ever since his mother - Kakashi's mother, his wife - died, taking to the spare room instead.  
He suddenly felt very cold. And it had nothing to do with the wind, though the culprit could easily be the hollow tones of Johnny Cash drifting eerily from the back room. He hadn't noticed it until now, straining his ears; once again, a prized possession of his mother. He heard the record skip several times on what had been her favorite song, before someone scratched the album and ruined it.  
He began walking, feet carrying him faster and faster as he came to the source of the music and the sound of something creaking, like something heavy hanging from the ceiling was swinging back and forth...  
Kakashi stared at the lifeless hulk that hung from the boards of his mother's room. All at once his lungs work, but at the same time his brain turned off; all he knew was this overwhelming hurt, this sense of helplessness and the hole being burned in his chest. Johnny seemed intent on haunting him, the record skipping eerily.  
_E-everyone I know... g-goes away... in the end... in the end... i-in the end..._

The same impish smile he had never had the intention of giving into greeted him when he walked (or stumbled) into the alleyway a few hours later. Calling an ambulance - though what good could it do now? - had been easy. Leaving his father hanging there hadn't. For the first time in his life, Kakashi had just wanted to stick around. He whispered, _"Sorry,"_ before turning off the record, because the terrible memories made him want to sob and hurt himself all at the same time.  
"Did you hear about Anko?" His voice sounded strange, like the way Kakashi imagined it might sound to other people.  
The impish smile disappeared. "Yeah. What about it?"  
Kakashi stared at him before looking about the old alley that had been, for the longest time, his second home. _Your second home was with Gai,_ said a voice. It could have been. But Kakashi, as always, had to ruin everything.  
Zabuza jumped down from the piles of crates, his makeshift throne, to slap Kakashi on the back.  
"He's back!" he shouted proudly to the invisible audience. "The Little Fang himself is back!"  
Faces materialized, faces Kakashi mildly recognized. Genma draping his arms about the shoulders of a scraggly looking black-eyed boy, a boy who had been hurt to the point where he just tagged along with the gang to smoke pot and let the other guys screw around with him. A girl with short, brown hair and red tattoos on either side of her face and kind eyes that made Kakashi think she didn't belong there. At tall, beautiful, blonde-haired woman with two different-colored eyes who had fallen in love with a gang-banger, conceived his child, and paid the price...  
No. Kakashi was looking into his past now. But Genma and the scraggly boy; the latter remained real and seemed familiar, and all at once he realized with such uncaring that it might've even surprised himself why Gekkou hadn't been in school for a while. He'd been hanging out with Zabuza's crew. People had thought he was in the hospital, or dead; he had always been the sickly type.  
Kakashi found little interest in this group. But as much as he hated to admit it, he belonged here. He did. He didn't see why he'd let Gai lead him away, let him lead him on that he was smart and therefore shouldn't be there. Gangs had nothing to do with smarts. They were all about not ever getting your just desserts, about always yearning but never receiving a smile or word of praise for your efforts. It was about getting smacked a bit too hard and too often by your old man, letting guys screw with you because your parents made you out to be easy, about not having parents to hurt you at all. It was about relief, about anger, about belonging. None of them belonged. All of them hurt, and the only thing anyone of them was good at doing was making others hurt.  
The Elite was a sad, harried group; the girls were thin and sullen, the boys who'd he had once thought of as having good builds and being cool looked like they were starved, and they probably were, or would be soon. Somebody should help these kids, was the fading thought. Somebody...  
But it hurt him to think about. Zabuza turned away and began the long walk into the dark pits of the alley. He motioned for the others to follow, which they did. Kakashi did as well, feeling like his joints were controlled and his actions clockwork. He couldn't think, and he didn't want to anymore. He just didn't care...

Gai stopped outside his home - meaning Kakashi's, not his - swallowing. He knew Kakashi was gone. He knew. But it still hurt to think of.  
He stared at the little dog that sniffed the grass, feeling thankful he had followed Kakashi after all. He couldn't catch Kakashi in time, to keep him from running, but he had saved Pakkun from an animal shelter and maybe the pound. Around here they didn't really care about the animals. Gai felt a sudden pang to see his cat again. Poor thing was probably hungry. But Pakkun couldn't be moved. He sat down on the sidewalk and stared at what used to be his house; waiting. Kakashi sure owed him when he came...  
Gai choked on a sob. "You idiot!" he cried. "He isn't coming back!"  
The little pug didn't move, knowing full well he wasn't the one being addressed.  
Gai allowed himself to crumple to his knees, holding his face in his hands. He wasn't crying, and he _wasn't going to._  
_Don't think about it,_ he commanded himself. _Don't think about Anko. Don't think about Asuma. Most of all, don't think about Kakashi, how you loved him and how you never got to tell him before..._  
Oh, oh, he was crying. How pathetic it is, when boys cry. Pakkun trotted up to him, sympathetically licking his hands and what parts of his face that were exposed. Gai had never been a fan of dogs, but he thought he saw now why Kakashi favored them. Fluffy didn't give a damn whether he had just lost his best friend in the world and - here he sobbed harder - _lover_, his first love, because the damn cat hadn't even had the nerve to come when he cut himself while chopping carrots. The thing just _yawned,_ like she was bored with his pain.  
So there Gai was - suffering from the worst, first, and only heartbreak in his life. That was what happened when you got attached to things, the tough, heartless guy, guys like that cop, guys in the novels and movies would say. It was usually a bout of irony; the icy-eyed man usually learned to love by the end of the book.  
But this wasn't a story, and Gai couldn't keep from caring. He couldn't keep from crying even though he knew it was pathetic of a boy to blubber and he couldn't keep from feeling sick every time Kakashi's face appeared in his mind which, being in love, made it all the time. All that bullshit about good times was just that: bullshit. Thinking about the fact you were happy together only made matters worse.  
Gai stood up, wiping his face of tears, sweat, and dog-drool.  
"C'mon, you mutt!" he gasped. "Let's go home."

* * *

Does S.E. Hinton's influence show? Oh, god, sorry if it does, or maybe not if you happen to love her as much as I do. A lot of this chapter, namely the last two scenes, are a sort of homage to _The Outsiders_ - no matter if you've never read it, didn't notice it, can't find it. I just don't want to take credit for it.


	11. Nuances Deteriorating

Late updates! Nearly a month? _A_ month? The next chapter is the last! No sequel. Thank GOD.

Don't get me wrong; I still like this story. It's been a constant, underlying stress in my life for quite a while now. (ha!) But I really need to write those parting words. Despite slow traffic, the plot of this story is always a lingering thought, a fun fantasy to dwell on when dog walks get their dullest... But I need the break, and to type my next Naruto fic, as well as plot _Slow Motion_ (lol advertising).

* * *

Gai fell into an uncomfortable and almost robotic schedule after Kakashi left - what had it been, a month now? The police were holding onto Orochimaru and Anko had finally come back to school. But it wasn't the same, spunky girl Gai had come to know through Kakashi. She was easily frightened and picked at her face constantly, and when her fingers weren't scratching an unseen and nonexistent (as far as he could tell) itch, they were clutching the opposite arm. This neo-Anko went to see the guidance counselor once every fourth period. It didn't seem to be helping much.  
"You hear from 'kashi?" she asked him one day, trying to appear pleasant. She failed miserably.  
"No," he said, so sullenly that she stopped speaking to him.  
Well, he supposed, the bet had been lost in a tie. Even if he hadn't run away, even if he were to come back with a way to wipe everyone's memories of the incident, Orochimaru was in jail, so unless there was another teacher just as thirsty for a challenge and quite as cocky as he had been, the deal was off. Ironically enough, Kakashi had always been the one to expect that he'd be imprisoned for such a thing. He just never thought it to be at his or a friend's own expense. He had lived in a fantasy world, Gai supposed; relationships were easy, you could go days and even weeks without tending to them; young girls weren't pushy enough to admit feelings and lesser so to succumb to the seductions of a much older man; it wasn't the near-end of the century, heavens no! This was a whole new one, a whole new world where it was okay for two boys to be together without having to worry over being called faggots at every turn. Everything must be hunky-dory, all the time, everyday in Kakashi's world, Gai thought. He just wished he could be apart of it for a while longer, but the whole damn thing had crumbled right before their eyes. So tragic. Boo hoo.

Little did Gai know Kakashi was wishing just the same, though perhaps subconsciously. His brain hadn't managed to thaw out of that frozen muck some called chronic depression. That, aside from a gang rep, had been another wonderful gift inherited from Father Dearest. Fuck him. Let the old fart rot in his grave.  
There were hands; grabby, overly eager to indulge hands. He remembered telling Gai his gang didn't bang and laughed. Out loud, too. Not that anyone cared, as long as he stayed there, yes, there, his hands splayed against the warm brick and thighs quaking from the unwelcome conquest of an unfamiliar member...  
Fuck, fuck, and fuck again, both figuratively and literally.

Oh. It was nearly summer vacation. Gai felt like weeping, and he wondered how anyone survived a break-up. It was bad enough being single, but worse so after you knew the feeling of having someone sleep beside you, touch you, kiss you and say things you never imagined anyone saying to you without being drunk or lying. It had been a while but still hurt, god dammit.  
He had a feeling Anko wasn't the only one in need of a counselor.

_A gang fight in the Ichiraku district today startled citizens as gunshots..._  
Gai stiffened. He had never been the one to watch the news religiously, but dammit, if gang activity was to be mentioned anywhere else he'd be damned.  
Pakkun let out a disgruntled _roooowl!_ as if to say, "Watch this! It's important!" Or perhaps he was telling Gai to give up already and feed him.  
Still, Gai wandered from the kitchen, his curiosity thirsty for the knowledge he so desperately needed. That Kakashi was out there, somewhere, whether or not he truly wanted to come back. Gai didn't care if he hated him now. He just wanted to know he was safe.  
No. The gang fight had nothing to do with _them_, the "Konoha Elite" as Kakashi had hesitatingly referred to them only when asked. Gai was satisfied that the ongoing storm in his mind, beginning just as the news had been announced, was now calmed. He cried, anyway, and didn't remember to feed Pakkun until much later when the little dog shat on the carpet out of spite.  
The last time any of them had heard from the Elite was about a week or so ago, when Kurenai came to Gai crying, stricken with terror, and just barely supporting a bloodied Asuma.  
Gai hadn't spoken with any real human beings for a while, so it took him a moment or two to adjust to his old social skills, which were rusty at best.  
"A little banged up, I see," he finally said, humorlessly.  
Asuma snorted. "I've seen better days." Kurenai burst into a fresh batch of tears.  
What little manners he had left suddenly came back to him. "Would you like to come in? I could help, if you want." Gai glanced behind him, as if some answer would appear to him. He remembered, at least. "I have a first AID kit."  
It took a bit of ribbing and Gai threatening to jab him with a needle, but Asuma finally let the cat out of the bag. And by that, he told them who beat him half to death.  
"I just went out for _four seconds_ to get some goddamn milk!" he spat, bitterly. "Zabuza and the Elite got a hold of me and taught me a thing or two about 'getting out.' And no," he continued, catching Gai's pleading gaze. "Kakashi wasn't with them."  
They shared a breathy sigh before falling into a regrettably awkward silence.  
"So," Kurenai started, and both men in the room hoped she wouldn't start crying again. She almost did, but luckily caught herself. "We can guess they have a base or some such where they're keeping him. Like a ransom kidnapping, almost."  
"Except not nearly as fun," Gai stated, dryly. Asuma nodded.  
"Maybe for the viewers at home, but not us. Definitely not us."  
That had been three weeks ago actually, now that he thought about it. Gai was slowly letting go of the days, as one usually does in summer.

They hadn't meant to meet up like that, but in any case it happened. It was a good thing, though. They might've killed themselves, had they gone on longer like that.  
Kakashi had managed to escape the clutches of the Elite after lulling a stupidish thug left to guard him to sleep. It was a technique his mother had used on him as a child, and to this very day he wasn't sure exactly how it worked. He was damn well glad it did, though.  
Coincidentally at that very moment, Gai was making his way to the dirtier bits of town, thinking that he'd stop by the Jashin district to pay his respects when he and Kakashi ran into each other.  
Literally.  
But unlike the second time they'd met, instead of falling on their asses, Gai gripped Kakashi by the waist to prevent him moving away. Not that he wanted to. He damn near snuggled into Gai's chest, not seeing who it was but recognizing the embrace, the smell; the almost nonexistent, watery hint of cucumber.  
"I fucking hate you," Gai growled, but in a tone nearly defunct of malice. Kakashi smiled against his chest, suddenly remembering how tired he was.  
"I love you, too," he murmured blearily. He felt Gai stiffen but didn't think much of it until he was on his back, in the dirt, rubbing his smarting face. He grimaced.  
"Damn," He said, surprised his voice didn't crack. "You've never been the violent type. Why'd you-?"  
"Why do you _think?!_" Gai was on him in a matter of seconds and they were half kissing, half fighting all out. It was a confusing combination fueled by hurt from both parties.  
Alas, they were together, and that was what counted.  
In irony of the sudden swelling of happiness between them, punches turning to needy grabbing at hair and desperate kisses, it began to rain.

Kakashi set his jaw firm before slipping his school jacket over his shoulders. He had run away straight from school, after all. Gai grimaced, not wondering about the stench so much as the lack of it. What the hell had he worn while his clothes were being cleaned? Who cleaned them? And, most importantly: Had Zabuza seen him bathe?  
Kakashi sensed the toxic waves cascading off him. He had to say this now.  
"I don't want you going after them."  
He was met with a hostile glare. He nearly flinched; nearly.  
"You were a bit rusty, I noticed," Gai said, tart. "I don't suppose they were to blame for how badly I was hurting you?"  
To his surprise (and quelling anger) Kakashi avoided his eyes.  
"I still don't want you to go after them," he said, voice soft but serious.  
In their time apart, Kakashi had learned composure, to wait things out and not jump head-first into all obstacles. Gai had become the exact opposite, his temper shortened to an easily sparked fuse attached to a pound of dynamite.  
The tension between them was thickening. Gai's temper flared up again. It was unfair. Unfair Asuma had been hurt, that Anko was still so messed up because of one man's unruly desire. It was unfair Kakashi had been hurt and that when they finally started to understand what the other was feeling it didn't matter because the other didn't function that way anymore. Just the same, Gai felt he loved him more than ever. It was such an out-of-place thought that it startled him, but he meant it. He loved him with every ounce of his soul.  
But he was still so damn _angry!_  
He managed to fortify himself momentarily, though. "Why can't I go after them? If it's their fault, they should pay!"  
"Because!" Kakashi shouted, bringing his voice to a level Gai hadn't heard him use for an incredibly long time. "Because this... this _revenge_, it just goes in endless circles until one or the other dies, and whoever is next in line will take the brunt of it! It's ridiculous because years from now our kin will be fighting a lost cause they had nothing to do with in the first place, to a point where no one even _remembers_ the original problem!" He was crying. Gai brought a hand to wipe a tear and Kakashi allowed it, for the most part. "I was wrong about them, Gai! The Elite have gotten desperate enough to kill people, and that's just putting it lightly."  
He looked at Gai, forlorn, agonized, and somehow sane despite breaking from the inside out for so long a time.  
Kakashi spoke a truth he'd been dwelling on since they'd first shared a cup of that odd, tangy nonsense at Ichiraku's.  
"I don't want you to get mixed up in that sort of world."  
Gai's heart swelled for a moment, but the feeling of joy was quickly diminished by the absence of a cause. He wanted to protect Kakashi from those bastards. He really did. But he'd been underestimating the full force of a street gang. They were starving, yes, desperate, absolutely. That and their sheer number of allies was what made them invincible. Without that, they were merely ruptured kids from dysfunctional homes. Without their thick skin, they were small and made of the most tangible glass.  
They kissed for a while longer before Gai helped Kakashi up. Then, arms draped across each other's shoulders in support - as lovers, friends, and fellow human beings - they set off for home. _Their_ home.

* * *

There _was_ a fight originally planned for this chapter but I took it out. You n3ever know, though! There's still time… Just because it's the last chapter doesn't mean it'll be uneventful. 


	12. On My Way

A frigid wind shot past, sending Gai into a convulsion of shivers. But they were finally here; the Jashin district, known well for its Christian upbringings and multitude of steeples. Here, they would finally pay their respects.  
Their parents' tombstones turned out to be closer than either had originally thought, so they ended up stalling for time. Neither wanted to face what was to come next.  
It was summer, a time wherein tight-rolled jeans and a song preaching _take on me_ was a huge hit in the 'States. Gai figured that was the reason Kakashi wanted this was just that; he wanted to warn Gai against something, himself most likely. And by the end of the conversation Gai would sigh and say he loved him anyway.  
Yet when he had timidly approached, asking Gai, "Can I tell you the truth?", he couldn't help but melt at the level of uncertainty that echoed back. He knew Kakashi had never been one to swallow his pride, and the once-in-a-blue-moon exception had come around just for him. Despite the fact he was dreading the probably horrific truth of the cause of this - Kakashi's 'misbehavior', the gangs, the drugs - he still loved him (Wow; it just kept getting easier to say!) and wanted to help as much as possible.  
He had replied, "I don't know. Can you?"  
Someone once said, the truth can set you free, and Gai planned to abide by those unwritten rules.  
They made the walk to the other side of the cemetery in utter silence, hands cupping and fingers twitching every now-and-then. Consequently, they blocked out the future possible heartbreak, the before unuttered truth to think to themselves; _He's there... he's there..._ The gentle pound of a pulse upon another, the wild rise of heat to one's face...  
It was too cold to be summer, but here they were, providing the heat themselves.  
They stopped before a smaller, crackling stone, and Gai noticed it was one of those discount markers that poorer families used to mark their dead. It made him feel sad, in a way, and that was only intensified after a moment when Kakashi squeezed his hand, then carefully slipped it away.  
He was quiet a moment, trying to find his voice.  
"Sit down," Kakashi said, finally. "This will take a while."  
The ground was mildly damp from the previous day's rainfall.  
Kakashi swallowed, the motion obvious in the summer-style clothing they wore despite unseasonable cloudiness and temperature. There was no doubt in their mind it would, ironically, clear up.  
He took a deap breath.  
"When I was five," he began, "my parents brought me up in your typical, struggling-to-make-ends-meet household. My mom's side of the family always said she had been crazy to fall for a gang member, so they did the 'obvious' thing and dumped her."  
"And your father gave up the good old days to help take care of you?" Gai pointed out, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Kakashi smiled, crookedly.  
"Yeah," he mumbled, scratching his neck awkwardly. "One of those romancey stories you never hear anywhere real except Japan. Anyway," he continued, "I... became a sort of stickler for the rules, trying to give my parents as little to worry about as possible. We didn't live here, though... We lived in Suna, a little town up in Hokkaido."  
Gai laughed. "Country?"  
Kakashi shrugged. "More or less." He mumbled something and looked at the ground. Gai leaned in.  
"What was that?"  
"I said, this'll go faster if you stop..."  
"Oh. Sorry."  
This time, Kakashi cleared his throat. Gai decided it best to heed his warning; if he interrupted again, Kakashi would have a hard time coming up with some nervous gesture he hadn't used already.  
"It was a little town, anyway. They'd never heard of the Fang, though they had gangs. Only, not really gangs so much as small groups of friends - troublemakers, rogue class clowns - that went around bothering people. The worst they ever did was scare the chickens shitless. I never associated with them because I had been raised believing that was as bad as the world got."  
He took a long, shaky breath.  
"And then I met Obito."  
Obito. Gai squinted, but he couldn't manage to make out the kanji on the tombstone. He scowled, mostly at the lazy people who had manufactured such an object. Just because a tombstone cost less didn't mean it had to be so damn easy to _ruin_.  
But if this had all happened in Hokkaido... what was he doing in Konoha?  
Kakashi stared ahead, transfixed. Gai realized he was seeing something. Remembering.  
"I... he was so kind to me," he murmured. "He was fifteen at the time, an entire decade older. But he was so kind. Sweetest kid in the whole damn world."  
"Please," Gai begged. "Tell me. What happened?"  
"What happened?" Kakashi looked at him, startled, as if suddenly recalling he was there.  
"Obito was a bit of a delinquent. A little more than everyone else, but not like they have us in the city. Obito was country-bad, which is really different. He got people angry and almost everyone hated him - including me - but looking back, we were a prideful bunch of bastards without much, and we hated him for taking all we had for the time - pride," he said, bitterly. "But he had his values. He cared for everyone, no matter who or what they were, and believed people who abandoned others for their own gain were trash; he had a point.  
"But Obito, as good as he was, was really mixed up in drugs. I was never really sure what to think of that, so I tried to avoid him when he was high."  
He was quiet. A very, very long time.  
"I must not have realized," he said, out of the blue, "he was high that day."  
The rest was more horrific than Gai could have possibly imagined.

There was a little girl, a little older than Kakashi, a little younger than Obito, who had always wanted to hang out with them. But Rin was a sickly kid, and she couldn't chase them long before getting tired. They took advantage of that a lot, running across the empty stretch of wheat-yellowed field to lose her, and she'd go crying back to her mother, who'd scoff after the boys. Didn't they know she was sick?  
They did, they did, but they were boys, and they didn't care.  
It was on that day that Obito, stoned as hell, decided to let Rin play with them.  
Kakashi had scowled at him, but he reassured the boy a third his age he had a plan to lose her, and he quieted down.  
They lead her through the thicker expanse of trees and proceeded to play around the woodland bits. Kakashi found he actually liked playing with Rin; he found her sickly manner delicate and cute rather than irritating or a set back. In the beginnings of his five-year-old crush, however, he didn't foresee the quick end of it.  
They came across a cave, a large boulder off to the side, hidden in thick brambles. Obito broke one off and brandished his newfound staff.  
"Let's explore!" he proclaimed, and they set in, letting Rin wander ahead.  
"Wha-?" Kakashi began when a sweet, dusty-smelling hand was pulled over his mouth, and Obito shushed him. Yes, he saw it now; the red veins, bleeding through a sea of white...  
Obito held the opposite fingers to his mouth, shushing him, silent shake of unsaid snickers wracking his body.  
"_Come on,_" he mouthed.  
They left the cave and Kakashi hung back, watching Obito prance like a madman to the gigantic stone that obscured a foot of the entrance, the rest of its mass clearly big enough to block the rest of the cave's entrance. Light enough for a pothead to move, but heavy enough for a little girl with health issues to be nearly helpless against.  
By the time Rin realized what was happening, it was almost too late.  
She shrieked and moaned to be let out, gasping and sobbing uncontrollably. Kakashi felt cold, oh so very, _very_ cold, as he turned to Obito, stricken.  
"Let her out!" he demanded. The teenager rolled his eyes and slumped against the stone.  
"Not now," he mumbled. "Head..."  
Kakashi felt like sobbing. Rin was scaring him, with those banshee cries. Maybe someone would hear them? Yeah. Hear them...  
Her cries grew softer and Obito stretched.  
"Tha's better," he yawned. "Oh, relax, kid. She's just okie. Okay? Okie dokie." He giggled in such a way that made Kakashi think he'd gone mad. "We'll get her tomorrow. She'll live."  
And Kakashi took his word for it.

"I was blamed for it. And why shouldn't I? When they found her, it was just like I'd worried. My mother was horrified, Obito beside himself with disgust. My father, in a rage, told us to pack our bags. We were going back to Konoha. Obito didn't have a whole lot to stay for and no one was willing to defend him, and, after an argument, my parents agreed reluctantly that they'd take him.  
"Everything went wrong from there. Obito finished his schooling then ran like the devil was headed for him and Mom got sick. But all she could talk about was, 'I hope Obito is safe. Is he safe, Sakumo?' She barely noticed I was there until the last couple days. But a lot of weird stuff seems to come back to you when you're dying."  
Kakashi shrugged. He would know; for a while there, it was like he almost was.  
"He died. We found his body a day after. Drugs, I guess... It's a lot to deal with. After all that we moved again, back to the district my dad grew up in. That was when those boys started trailing me, because they had known the Fang or heard about the Fang, so they needed someone to take their revenge on or try to conquer. At that point, I was done. It hurt, so I stopped caring. I let go. All my fault. All done. To hell with it."  
For a long time they sat there, still and stiff. No amount of words could possibly take any of that back. It seemed all too elaborate to be true. Gai got the feeling he was in denial for thinking that himself.  
He exhaled the longest, slowest breath he had since meeting Kakashi, and that was saying a lot. Kakashi withdrew a quivering breath. What people usually meant, Gai had found, was that by molding themselves "beyond caring", people were really just gathering the hurt, focusing it all in one feeble hiding place until there was no room left, and it either burst all at once or leaked through, slowly and painfully.  
"Yeah but... _why?_ Drugs I understand a little, but that's not all gangs do. People _die_, whether it's on purpose or not. Is that how-?"  
"You don't understand," Kakashi parroted, softly. "It's not just a thing of hurting. It's about what I _did_. That kind of thing will always stay with you, no matter how hard you try to forget. And I started to think, well, maybe hurting people is all I'm good at. Maybe I might as well keep with that, since there's nothing else I'm worthy of..." His voice faltered.  
"Well, I'm not going to lie to you," Gai said acridly, "it was your fault."  
Kakashi flinched, then averted his eyes. This was it. He would lose Gai because he let him in and he'd run off, just like Obito.  
"But..."  
_But_ was always good.  
"If you can beat yourself up like this - focus on repent, repent, repent, refuse yourself a happy life-"  
"I'm not that gallant," Kakashi meant to cut in, bitingly, but Gai plowed on.  
"-I think, wherever they are, they forgive you. And maybe Obito, too." He smiled wide. "You've shown you're sorry. It's only fair for them to."  
Kakashi's eyes were as wide as saucers. "So you - then we - _you're not disgusted?_"  
"Yes, but not for the reason you think." Gai threw an arm over Kakashi's shoulders.  
After a while, he said, "You're a good guy, Kakashi."  
He smirked in reply. "You're cool too, Gai."  
They looked at each other, just smiling like dopes, one teary-eyed with his knees scrunched against his chest, the other relaxed, the calm one. It was the last time they'd be like that together; it was their last time being the old Kakashi and Gai.  
"You okay? I mean, will you be?" Gai mumbled, and suddenly they weren't old friends. They were lovers again.  
Kakashi tilted his head to the sky, lips turned up coyly at something unseen. A sign only he could see.  
"I think," he said, "I'm on my way."

**The End**

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Listen to me rant? Or pretend to. Thanks.

Okay. So I've been planning Gai's big speech a while, and I feel like it came out... bleh. Another thing; there's an epilogue - like, barely a hundred words - and if you want to see it, I'll post it, but then that's it. No sequel. And it's a Harry-Potter type ending, like one of those "lol dees ees vut happens". It doesn't get too specific, but it's offensive and a last laugh kind of thing.

I bet you expected me to do a "SOB SOB I KNEW A KID NAMED OBITO WHO DIED" story, right? Well, I originally planned to take this idea from the movie _The Flatliners_ - remember, how he indirectly killed that kid when he fell out of a tree? Well, later on I came up with the sickly and the cave idea instead, but writing this chapter I decided I wanted to be different. It's fan-_fiction_ for a reason; besides, I bet we're all tired of the same-old same-old.


	13. Epilogue

And here's your wimpy epilogue; enjoy. :)

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**Epilogue: After The Story**

Gai went to a community college the year Kakashi repeated high school. By chance, he met up with Anko, who had turned her life around after her rape and was currently out of school, but working to be a beautician. She is currently married to her former teacher, who provided her with counseling and helped her get through her experience. Hiashi couldn't be less thrilled to have her as a sister-in-law.

Asuma and Kurenai got married, struggled to make ends meet, and delivered a perfect baby girl into the world. Kurenai went back to school and Asuma took roll as a stay-at-home father. He never did kick smoking.

Zabuza was convicted of pedophilia at the age of twenty-four. Nothing was proven and he was released. He is now a Sunday school teacher.

Gennou was shot in a gang fight. He died shortly afterwards, not to be found until the next morning.

Gekkou Hayate inherited an incredible amount of money after his father died in a car crash. He now owns one of the single most prestigious organizations in the world, working towards helping kids in gangs. Ibiki has been employed as his body guard and head of security.

Orochimaru was known infamously in prison and served a long, miserable life sentence.

Kakashi wasn't changed too much for good; he managed to act just like the boy Gai had bumped into (literally) in front of Ichiraku's ramen shop one final time, when Gai proposed to him the following year. He punched Gai hard enough in the face to nearly shatter his jaw (but it was an act of love, believe you me). In the emergency room he apologized, weeping his gratitude. Gai couldn't have been happier.


End file.
